BBC Breakfast has seen several presenters come and go over the years (Image: Andy Stenning / Daily Mirror)
first hit screens 2000, with a fresh batch of presenters sharing the most important headlines with viewers.
The programme is currently hosted by a number of different faces, from Jon Kay and to and .
There are a number of other stars who fill in on the weekends or step in when the main presenters are absent. But there have also been many presenters who have since moved on from their role on the show.
Here, Express Online has looked back at who departed Breakfast and the reasons why.
Bill Turnbull
BBC Breakfast was perhaps Bill Turnbull’s most notable role (Image: BBC)
Bill Turnbull’s broadcasting career spanned more than four decades, but his most notable role was on Breakfast.
He spent 15 years presenting the programme between 2001 and 2016 before announcing his departure.
The radio presenter cited his reason for departing to spend more time with his family and his “neglected” bees, revealing his favourite hobby was beekeeping.
Speaking to the in 2016, Bill admitted that he “didn’t want to become stale”.
He said: “After three hours you know you have done a programme but you are meant to look comfortable and happy to be there. I used to say we should have run a scientific experiment to measure my blood pressure when I was on.”
in 2022 after a battle with prostate cancer.
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Louise Minchin
Louise Minchin left BBC Breakfast because she could no longer cope with the exhausting schedule (Image: BBC)
A staple on Breakfast, sat on the red sofa for more than 20 years. She became a main presenter in 2012, sitting alongside the likes of Bill Turnbull, and Dan Walker.
The 56-year-old announced she was stepping down from the role in 2021, admitting she was struggling with the exhausting early morning schedule.
last year, telling The Times: “You have to be 100 per cent nice Louise. That job comes with an enormous amount of pressure. It’s relentless.
“The hours are horrific, utterly, utterly gruelling, and it has an impact on every different part of your life – when you eat, when you sleep, how you feel. It was my dream job and I absolutely loved it but I’d done it enough.”
Sophie Raworth
Sophie Raworth presented BBC Breakfast when it launched in 2000 (Image: BBC)
Sophie Raworth joined the in 1992 as a news reporter for Greater Manchester Radio. She moved to national television in 1997 to co-present the ‘s Breakfast News, which was later relaunched as Breakfast.
She was a regular on the programme for three years before announcing her departure in 2003. On her final day, Sophie confessed that she didn’t think she’d last in the role.
“When I started, I remember standing in the bathroom at 3am on my first day thinking I’m not going to last a week, never mind the end of the year,” she said.
Sophie left Breakfast to become the face off the Six O’Clock News, a position she still holds to this day. The esteemed journalist, 56, is now regarded as one of the nation’s most recognisable news readers.
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Dan Walker
Dan Walker presented BBC Breakfast from 2016 until 2022 (Image: BBC)
Joining Breakfast in 2016, Dan Walker replaced Bill Turnbull and shared the sofa with until her departure in 2021.
After six years on the red sofa, in 2022. He left for a new role on Channel 5, where he now works as a news broadcaster on their afternoon News programme.
The presenter announced that he was leaving in a video shared on X, formerly Twitter, saying it was a “massive decision” to leave the but “I don’t think opportunities like this come around very often.”
Susanna Reid
Susanna hosted BBC Breakfast from 2006 until 2014 (Image: BBC)
Despite being a regular face on ITV screens, ‘s career began at the .
She hosted alongside the late Bill Turnbull and between 2006 and 2014. The 54-year-old left the broadcaster to join ITV as a presenter on , a role she still holds today.
Susanna addressed her exit at the time, telling fans: “As a news journalist & presenter I couldn’t turn down this opportunity and a new challenge.
“Thank you for your messages. I’m very excited to be joining Good Morning Britain. I have loved being at Breakfast & will miss the team.”
The mum-of-three was replaced by .
Sian Williams
Sian Williams was initially a relief presenter on BBC Breakfast (Image: BBC)
Initially joining as a relief presenter in 2001, Sian Williams became a main host on the programme just four years later.
She presented alongside the likes of Dermot Murnaghan and Bill Turnbull before bidding farewell to the show in 2012. The broadcaster left after the programme’s production team was relocated to Salford.
Sian admitted she battled with her decision to leave, but ultimately it was her son who convinced her by saying the quote: “The ship is safest in the harbour, but that is not where it is meant to be.”
Things turned emotional during Sian’s final show as she told viewers: “You’ve been such a wonderful audience, thank you very, very much, I will miss you hugely.”
In 2012 she rejoined Radio 4 to co-present Saturday Live and currently presents Life Changing on the station.
Jeremy Bowen
Jeremy Bowen presented the first ever episode of BBC Breakfast (Image: BBC)
Alongside Sophie Raworth, Jeremy Bowen hosted the first ever Breakfast show in October 2000.
In 2002, the Welsh broadcaster admitted that his future at the corporation is “up for grabs” and he was in talks with bosses about his next move.
Jeremy, who has been a war correspondent for much of his career, officially left the role that year to concentrate on writing a book, before returning to foreign reporting.
More than a decade later, the 64-year-old confessed that working on Breakfast made him physically ill due to the early starts.
“I started getting these unexplained stomach pains,” he told . “I had to have an endoscopy and they never got to the bottom of it, and then I stopped getting up at 3.30 in the morning and the pains went away.”