Lisa Byrne editor of OK! magazine leaves role after eight years
OK! magazine's long-serving editor Lisa Byrne has left the Northern & Shell owned publication after eight years.
Byrne is thought to have left the celebrity gossip magazine, which is owned by Richard Desmond, last week after taking up the role of editor in 2004.
Speculation surrounding cuts, mergers, closures or even sales of one or more of Desmond's publications, which include OK!, New! and Star, have been circulating for much of the year.
In March, Northern & Shell confirmed it was looking to recoup £5 million across its newspaper titles, leading to rumours that the publishers magazine portfolio could be next.
Circulation figures confirmed all was not well at the magazine as OK! fell one place in the rankings to fifth place in the women's weeklies market, with sales dipping some 25 per cent year-on-year.
Northern & Shell has made no comment as to who will replace Byrne. A spokeswomen for the publisher commented: "Lisa Byrne has worked at OK! Magazine for over 13 years and has been editor-in-chief for eight. In that time OK! has become the best-selling celebrity magazine in the country, becoming a huge success story.