The currently invisible on the channel Darren McCaffrey’s impending departure from GB News means the plum political editor’s job is up for grabs. Speculation is already rife over who will take over the leading role at the UK’s second-biggest dedicated news channel…

• Christopher Hope – Currently Associate Editor (Politics) at The Telegraph. A stalwart of the Lobby and podcaster extraordinaire, surely useful given GB News’ ambitions for their radio station. Chopper’s name is already doing the rounds in the GB Newsroom and would give the insurgent station a big boost. Has notably increased his appearances on the channel recently, even standing in for Andrew Doyle and presenting a full show.
• Tom Harwood – Political correspondent at GB News. Has been at the channel since its launch, has impeccable contacts, knows a story and has concerning levels of energy that would come in handy during the next general election. Might have to sacrifice his love of delivering early morning free market polemics on wonk issues to make time for more mainstream content, though. Shame.
• Camilla Tominey –  Another Telegraph bigwig, currently serving as their Associate Editor and columnist. Has presented the GB News Sunday morning offering for nearly a month now, and in Guido’s opinion is already on a par with Sophy Ridge and Laura Kuenssberg in terms of interview quality.
• Angus Walker – Former ITN political correspondent and Gavin Williamson SpAd. Good broadcaster and Tory-adjacent.
• Gloria de Piero – Former Labour MP with relatively sound Red Wall credentials. Her appointment would surely be a sign the channel is laying the ground for a prolonged period of Labour government. She has a long history of broadcasting, including the BBC and seven years at GMTV, during which time she was the political editor. Has already produced a series of very good interviews with top-level politicians for the channel.
• Kate McCann – Political editor at TalkTV. A very similar job opportunity to the one she’s currently doing, albeit with a guaranteed higher viewership.
• Dehenna Davison MP – Currently Tory MP for Bishop Auckland, though she took SW1 by surprise when announcing she’d be standing down at the next election. Has already presented a show on the channel, and has proved she’s more than willing to be a thorn in the side of the Tory government.
• Matt Chorley – The top choice for all those TimesRadio listeners who feel continually disappointed they only get to hear his lilting tones rather than see the face they’re coming from. Could even appear on the channel’s humorous paper review show to nick some jokes for his next ‘stand up’ tour.

Good luck…

As Guido first reported back in November, Jacob Rees-Mogg is launching his own show on GB News in the coming weeks. The channel confirmed the move this morning with a video message from the ex-Business Secretary himself, revealing he’ll be taking the show on tour across the country in front of live audiences. Speaking this morning, Rees-Mogg said:

“GB News is a bastion of free speech which clearly has its finger uniquely on the pulse of public opinion and does not talk down to its viewers and listeners.I have been impressed by the channel’s independent-mindedness and its determination to talk to people with many different perspectives, which is exactly what I will do on my programme.” 

No news on the programme’s name yet. Surely “Mogglebox”…

Piers Morgan’s TalkTV Series Editor Ben Briscoe is leaving the channel and heading to Paddington, joining GB News as its new Series Executive Producer. In a new email to staff this morning, GB News Chief Angelos Frangopoulos announced:

“”We’ve made some key hires. I’m thrilled that Ben Briscoe is joining us as Series Executive Producer. Ben was in a leadership role at News UK as Piers Morgan’s Series Editor, and previously in a senior editorial role at Good Morning Britain. Meanwhile Helen Warner has left and does so with our best wishes.”

First Piers loses his studio, now he’s lost his series editor. Congratulations Ben…
Read the announcement in full below:

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