James Naughtie to leave BBC Radio 4's Today programme after 21 years

James Naughtie, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme is to leave the show after more than 20 years, with the BBC’s political editor Nick Robinson heading the race to succeed him.

Naughtie will take up a new role next year as a special correspondent for Radio 4, reporting on the Scottish elections and the presidential elections in the US and France.

Having joined the Today programme in 1994, Naughtie is the show’s second-longest serving presenter after John Humphrys. He is also the second presenter to leave Today in two years after Evan Davis departed to present BBC2’s Newsnight, and said his departure was a case of “moving from one dream job to another”.

“The Today programme is a golden cage, a wonderful place to be and it’s quite difficult to know how and when to get out,” he told the Guardian.

“There is never a lovely time to leave, but I do think 21 years is a good innings. I will miss the daily kick of a live programme, but you can’t do it forever. I’m 64 next month – I don’t feel anything like 64, but it’s time to move on.”

Naughtie’s exit, announced on Tuesday, immediately fuelled speculation over his replacement, with Robinson, not yet back on full duties following surgery for lung cancer, believed to be the favourite.

Should Robinson take the role, his position as the BBC’s political editor is expected to be filled by a woman, with Laura Kuenssberg, chief correspondent and occasional presenter of Newsnight, among the leading contenders.

Naughtie said he was “a bit emotional” about the decision and said he would miss presenting alongside Humphrys, a fixture on Today since 1987.

“When you have sat beside someone at four in the morning fairly regularly for 21 years, as John and I have done, you get to know them quite well,” said Naughtie.

“It’s going to be very odd for the both of us. The same goes for the other presenters, but particularly John. In 21 years we have never had a cross word personally.”

For his part, Humphrys described Naughtie as “irreplaceable, not just because of his huge knowledge of politics but his ability to cut to the chase in an interview.

“We all get criticised and Jim has had his fair share of mickey-taking for allegedly long-winded questions, but the point is they were good questions that tested the interviewee.”

Alongside Naughtie’s achievements, he will inevitably be remembered his slip on air five years ago when he inadvertently replaced the first letter of Jeremy Hunt’s surname with a C.

“I expect to get a text from Jeremy Hunt any moment wishing me well,” Naughtie joked on Tuesday.

As Radio 4’s special correspondent, the BBC said Naughtie would have responsibility for “charting the course of the constitutional changes at the heart of the UK political debate”.

He will also take on the role of books editor for BBC News, which will include a new book review slot on the Saturday edition of Today.

He is currently one of five presenters on Today, alongside Humphrys, Sarah Montague, Justin Webb and its most recent recruit, Mishal Husain. The programme draws just over seven million listeners a week.

Jamie Angus, editor of the Today programme, described Naughtie as an “editor’s dream”, and said the show would “still have plenty of Jim in years to come”.

He paid tribute to the presenter’s “immense knowledge, skill and range as a live interviewer”, and also his “chronic reluctance to read the correct time, find the weather forecast, or stop a gale of suppressed laughter once he gets going”.

Naughtie joined Today in 1994 following the death of Brian Redhead. He previously spent six years as presenter of the World at One, after a career in newspapers including a stint as chief political correspondent of the Guardian.

BBC director general Tony Hall said: “Jim has been the emotional heart of the Today programme for a generation.

“His persistent and incisive questioning has given millions of listeners a greater understanding of the stories of our time. Above all he’s a writer and reporter at heart – he can bring to life a vivid scene on the radio better than anyone.”