BBC Breakfast in 'crisis' over MediaCityUK move
With decisions expected from BBC Breakfast staff as to whether to move to the new base at MediaCityUK in Salford at midnight tonight, the corporation could face crisis, with many unwilling to make the leap.
According to The Telegraph this morning, around one-in-five members of staff are willing to make the move from London, following the announcements by presenter Chris Hollins and Sian Williams that they would not be making the move.
Presenter Bill Turnbull however has said that he is willing to move North with the programme.
Around 100 members of staff are unwilling to make the move due to family, with The Telegraph quoting sources from the programme who claim that the show will be run by ‘a lot of inexperienced people’ and that many staff will choose to stay in London with many taking redundancy.
While Sian Williams is said to have yet to have made a final decision about the move, her agent, Alex Armitage, is quoted at saying: Williams’s agent, Alex Armitage, said: “This is not about going to Salford, but about a decade of getting up before the dawn chorus. We’ve been talking to the BBC for the past six to nine months about potential new roles where she doesn’t need to use her alarm clock quite so frequently.”
A spokesperson for the BBC said: “Breakfast News staff do not need to make their decision until March 30 and therefore any figures suggested before the end of the month are completely speculative.”
The MediaCityUK base for the BBC will also house its Children’s and sport departments, as well as Radio 5 Live.