has announced the arrival of two new permanent presenters - Paddy O'Connell and Matt Chorley, who will be joining lead presenter Victoria Derbyshire. The appointment comes just two years after the on the current affairs programme. Victoria will present the programme on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with Paddy presenting on Thursdays, and Matt on Fridays.

Both Paddy and Matt have been presenting on the show on an ad hoc basis since the departure of Kirsty Wark in July. The pair will officially begin their roles this month. Their appointment comes as Newsnight records rising ratings and increased audience numbers across terrestrial TV, iPlayer and its social media channels. This follows a format change in May last year, which saw Newsnight focus more on live insights and interviews.

Paddy said: "Newsnight is the programme I've watched since I was eighteen and I'm awed to be joining the team growing the audience with the cracking work of Victoria Derbyshire.

Ten thirty pm is now the breaking news hour for the new world order, and I'll be there every Thursday in a frenzied news cycle turning to the best guests as we're all looking for answers."

While Matt commented: "I'm so excited to be joining Newsnight, a programme with such an incredible history which has been reinvented by Victoria and the brilliant team in the last year. If you've ever shouted at the news 'well what does that mean?' the moment you hear that electric guitar of the Newsnight theme, you know you're going to get answers.After spending the week skulking about in Westminster, what better way to spend Friday night than passing on all the gossip and intrigue I've picked up, joined by smart, funny and surprising guests?"

In November 2023, the BBC announced that the investigative programme would be trimmed down by 10 minutes and relaunched as a platform for interviews and debates.

More than half of the programme's jobs were axed in an effort to save £7.5m.

The cost-saving measures gutted Newsnight as the show was also cut down to just 30 minutes after losing half of its viewers.

The move sparked backlash from high-profile figures including Mark Urban and Emily Maitlis, two former presenters of the show.

But the show has since seen a resurgence in viewership as it has gained a new lease of life spurred on by the ongoing political agenda including Donald Trump's presidency which has seen audience numbers rise.