Race is on to replace ITV’s political editor

By Caitlin Pike

As the contest to replace BBC political editor Andrew Marr ended
with the appointment of ITV News’ Nick Robinson this week, the race
began for the equivalent ITV role.

Robinson is returning to the BBC as political editor after three
years doing the same job at ITV. Marr is leaving at the end of the
summer after five years to take over from Sir David Frost as presenter
of the BBC’s Sunday morning current affairs programme.

Contenders
for Robinson’s job at ITV are thought to include John Ray, the
channel’s senior political correspondent; James Mates, one of ITV’s
senior news correspondents; and political correspondents Angus Walker
and Libby Wiener. The channel may also look to poach from the BBC, as
it did with Robinson. Before joining ITV News as political editor in
November 2002 he was chief political correspondent for BBC News 24.

Robinson said: “I’ve relished trying to give Andy Marr a run for his money over the past couple of years.

“I’m
excited and daunted in equal measure at the prospect of now trying to
fill his rather ample shoes. The job of BBC political editor is to
bring drama, insight and analysis to a subject too many say they
dislike but most know they simply cannot ignore.”

Editor-in-chief
of ITV News, David Mannion, said he was surprised the BBC couldn’t find
anyone among “its vast army of journalists” to replace Marr. “They have
poached back someone they failed to spot three years ago when he was
under their very noses. We can only hope that the BBC will be bold
enough to allow Nick the freedom to continue the iconoclastic and
challenging style of journalism that ITN encouraged.”