Entertainment

Jeremy Vine takes over from Matthew Wright on The Wright Stuff

The daily show will have a new name.
The daily show will have a new name. The daily show will have a new name.

Jeremy Vine is taking over from Matthew Wright as host of Channel 5’s daily current affairs show.

Wright, 52, recently announced his departure from the programme after 18 years in The Wright Stuff studio.

Vine, 53, will kick off the show, which will have a new name, in September.

The Radio 2 DJ, whose TV credits include Points Of View, Eggheads, Panorama and the graphic sections of BBC election specials, said: “Matthew Wright has built a brilliant show that’s a big part of the British TV landscape.

“I’m delighted to be carrying on all the conversations he has started, with all the guests he’s made me feel I know over the years.

Matthew Wright (Steve Parsons/PA)
Matthew Wright (Steve Parsons/PA) Matthew Wright recently announced his departure from the programme after 18 years (Steve Parsons/PA)

“Radio 2 has a beautiful editorial overlap with the serious but accessible agenda of this show. I am proud to be Channel 5’s choice to front it.”

The show will  see guest presenters hosting the daily programme over the summer, with Wright presenting his last programme on Thursday.

Ben Frow, director of programmes for Channel 5 said: “Jeremy Vine is a brilliant broadcaster whose supreme ability to make challenging stories accessible to a wider audience, not to mention his intellect, energy and wit, makes him the perfect choice to present our daily current affairs show.”

Ian Rumsey, director of TV Production at producer ITN Productions, said that Vine, “a giant of popular live broadcasting”, would bring “his own distinctive style and charm” to the show.

Live show The Wright Stuff currently airs from 9.15am to 11.15am on Channel 5, finishing just 45 minutes before Vine’s Radio 2 programme – which he will continue to host – begins.

A time slot for the Channel 5 show when it is presented by Vine is yet to be confirmed.

Vine is one of several big names who have reduced their salaries at the BBC.

The Radio 2 host was earning between £700,000 and £749,999 a year before he took his pay cut.