GB News recruitment
March 26, 2021
BBC newsreader Simon McCoy is joining GB News. The presenter, best known to BBC viewers through viral clips of him offering sardonic asides, will host an afternoon programme on the new channel.
GB News is pushing ahead with the hiring of more than 100 staff across the UK ahead of its launch. Andrew Neil will host a nightly show featuring a segment called Wokewatch, while other hires include Nigel Farage’s former LBC producer Christian Mitchell and the former Sun associate editor Dan Wootton.
The channel claims to have raised £60 million (€70m) of funding, with backers including Paul Marshall, the Brexit-supporting hedge fund boss. It has spent heavily on hiring staff in addition to securing a slot on Freeview to ensure it is available in the maximum number of British homes.
Rehearsals are also due to start on News UK TV, a rival opinion-news channel from News Corp. However, that has focused on a much more modest plan to stream during evening peak hours only.
Within the television news industry the focus is on where Piers Morgan will end up, with the former Good Morning Britain host available for hire after quitting ITV’s breakfast show following his comments about Meghan Markle.