BBC Ten O'Clock News

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Huw Edwards has been the main presenter of the programme since January 2003.

Fiona Bruce has been the secondary presenter of the programme also since January 2003.

The BBC Ten O'Clock News is the flagship evening news programme for British TV channel BBC One and BBC News 24. It is anchored by Huw Edwards, and deputised by Fiona Bruce. It is the final comprehensive news programme of the day on BBC One, and was controversially moved from 9pm in 2000.

It is broadcast on weeknights from 10.00pm until 10.35pm and features thirty minutes of national (UK) and international news, with an emphasis on the latter. It incorporates five minutes of news from the BBC regions around the UK at around 10:25pm, before closing with a brief recap of the headlines. Its main rival is ITN's ITV Nightly News on ITV1. It almost always maintains a comfortable lead over ITV1 in the news ratings.

Presenters

The presenters are also involved in other television work for the BBC. Huw Edwards is head anchor at BBC News and covers the world's biggest news events for the corporation. Deputy anchor Fiona Bruce presents the current affairs programme Real Story. She is also the duty anchor for a shorter 15 minute edition of the BBC Ten O'Clock News on a Sunday night.

Its other main presenters include George Alagiah, Darren Jordon and occasionally Natasha Kaplinsky. Former presenters Michael Buerk and Peter Sissons do occasionally appear on the programme.

History

The programme was launched in 2000, replacing the former BBC Nine O'Clock News, which had been on the air since 1970. Its launch presenters were Michael Buerk and Peter Sissons, who left in 2003 to make way for new anchors Huw Edwards and Fiona Bruce

The move from nine to ten followed the decision by ITV to scrap News at Ten in 1999. The ITV decision was controversial and the network restored the program to compete head to head with the BBC Ten O'Clock News in 2001. In 2004, ITV dropped News at Ten because of poor ratings.

Beginning in February 2006, the bulletin has been simulcast on BBC News 24 as part of BBC Ten O'Clock News Hour. This consists of the BBC One bulletin up to the point of the handover to the regional news, but omits this and the subsequent headline recap in favour of additional reporting on stories of national interest; particularly emphasising sports and business news.

Trivia

In 2005 it was the RTS "News Programme of the Year". "The Ten," as it is known, is often mimicked on Dead Ringers, the satirical BBC television series.

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