Will Peston oust his old rival Evan from Newsnight?
THE BBC’s economics editor Robert Peston is said to be close to a move to ITV, but there is a berth he covets at the Beeb which would persuade him otherwise.
Peston, who has been offered the political editor’s job at ITV following Tom Bradby’s promotion to anchor, is in talks to stay at the Corporation with a view to presenting on Newsnight.
After a long and distinguished career as a financial reporter, breaking many high- profile stories, sources tell me he would welcome a crack at being frontman. It chimes with his remark earlier this year that he was looking for ‘another big challenge’.
Peston filled in as a guest presenter on Newsnight last sum- mer, and has admitted he would have liked to replace Jeremy Paxman following the longserving attack dog’s departure.
The offer from ITV, which is looking to beef up its flagship news bulletin, appears to have given him a bargaining chip.
Not surprisingly, news of Peston’s daring ultimatum hasn’t gone down well with Newsnight’s current host Evan Davis, who this week marked a year on the show since succeed- ing Paxman. ‘ Evan is very unhappy,’ says my BBC mole. ‘But Peston is an old mate of [Newsnight editor] Ian Katz and it’s definitely being discussed.’
It would not be the first time the two journalists have crossed swords. When Peston arrived at the BBC to replace Jeff Randall as business editor in 2006, he was miffed to find Davis had cheekily moved in to Randall’s palatial office, which Peston had assumed would be his.
Peston went on to break a string of exclusives in that role, starting with the Northern Rock affair. He was made economics editor in October 2013 but has a varied role, also fronting several documentaries. He has since gained notoriety on account of his tousled hair and his reluctance to wear a tie.
When asked about the matter, the BBC declined to comment.