Anna Ford retires from BBC News

One of the BBC’s most well-known newsreaders, Anna Ford has presented her final bulletin.

Ford, 62, presented the One O’clock News to bring her 27 year newsreading career to a close.

Ford has presented the lunchtime bulletin since May 1999. Prior to this, she presented the Six O’clock News TV-AM. Her first two roles at the BBC were with documentary series Man Alive and long-running science programme Tomorrow’s World. She also was the first female presenter of ITN’s News At Ten.

“It definitely feels like the end of an era,” she told BBC Breakfast, saying it felt like she was “leaving school”.

“I’ve come to the end of the road. I’m not stretched by it any longer. I want to do something new.”

“As you may have heard, this is my last news broadcast. I’m off to do new things,” she told viewers, before introducing a montage of moments from her TV career, from her days as a reporter with Granada TV to her more recent career with the BBC.

Ford, who announced her retirement in October, has not revealed her future plans but said she is “going to have some fun”.

Sophie Raworth will take over presenting the bulletin.