Today wants ‘professional Northerner’ Robinson to host from Manchester
But will he refuse to go . . . and could Victoria do job instead?
BBC bosses want Nick Robinson to move from Radio 4’s Today studio in London and co-host the show from Manchester.
The change is part of a wider plan by the Corporation to counter claims that it is too focused on the capital.
But Robinson – who grew up in the North West of England – is believed to be resistant to the change, even though it may be announced next week.
One BBC source, who asked not be named, said: ‘The BBC are determined that this will happen.
‘Nick is perceived as being the show’s “professional Northerner” and the idea is that he will co-host his editions from Manchester.
‘He is from that part of the country and has the contacts and the experience to make it work.
‘It is the plan but at the moment he is not keen.’
Mishal Husain, Martha Kearney and Justin Webb are also regular Today presenters, but only Robinson has been approached to move.
Should he refuse, his future on the flagship programme may become uncertain – possibly opening up a berth for Lancashire-born Victoria Derbyshire, whose daily TV show was axed last week.
Robinson, 56, is from Macclesfield and currently co-hosts the show three times a week.
Under the plans, he would present most or all of his editions from a studio in Manchester.
The BBC hopes to announce the new format ‘quite soon.’
One insider said: ‘The studio is all set up in Manchester and technically there is no reason why this couldn’t happen tomorrow.
‘The idea is that the host in Manchester would be able to call upon the BBC’s correspondents in that region to offer a much more indepth coverage of life in that part of the country.
‘The veteran Today presenter Brian Redhead would occasionally present the show from Manchester and that gave the programme a much more national feel.’
Robinson, the BBC’s former Political Editor, joined Today in 2015 – the year he was diagnosed with cancer, for which he has been successfully treated.
BBC bosses are thought to be keen to reassure him that co-hosting the show from Manchester would not undermine his current high profile. They could further sweeten the pill by boosting his salary or by allowing him to commute rather than relocate from his North London home to the North of England.
But he is believed to have serious concerns over moving him or any other member of the show’s core presenting team to Manchester.
Another BBC source who asked not to be named said: ‘Nick is fully on board with the idea that both the BBC and the Today programme should be more representative of the country at large.
‘His worry, shared by others at Radio 4, is the move could be counterproductive for both the BBC and the presenter concerned.
‘It would send out entirely the wrong signal if the BBC despatched a presenter to an empty studio in Manchester three times a week just so he or she could interview people in London via the phone.’
Ensuring its most important news programme has a North of England presence would allow the BBC to counter claims it is out of touch on mainstream topics such as Brexit. It could also help Today reestablish a proper working relationship with the Government. Senior Ministers are currently boycotting the show because of concerns about its approach and tone.