Sanjana Idnani
Andrew Neil has stepped down from his roles as the chairman and flagship presenter of GB News. He will continue to contribute to GB News as a regular guest contributor.
Neil’s decision to step back comes after just three months of the channel being on air. Mr Neil himself has presented just eight programmes. The ex-BBC host was the face of the programme before it went on air in June, but has been unhappy with the technical mistakes and loss of top staff on the channel, as well as its political direction.
It’s official: I have resigned as Chairman and Lead Presenter of GB News.
— Andrew Neil (@afneil) September 13, 2021
In a statement issued on Monday by GB News, Mr Neil said: “I am sorry to go but I have concluded it’s time to reduce my commitments on a number of fronts. Over the summer I’ve had time to reflect on my extensive portfolio of interests and decided it was time to cut back.
“I wish GB News well in continuing to fulfil its founding promise and mission to reach audiences currently underserved by existing news broadcasters.”
“The channel’s launch hasn’t been the smoothest sailing”
GB News said: “Andrew is without doubt one of the finest journalists and interviewers in this country. GB news thanks him for his 12 months of leadership, wisdom and advice, and we wish him well.”
The Broadcaster’s Launch
The channel’s launch hasn’t been the smoothest sailing. In its first few days, GB News was hit by technical issues. With a number of brands announcing that they would no longer advertise on the channel, citing concerns about its content.
After only two weeks on air, Neil announced that he was taking a “summer break” from his 8pm show.
“Andrew Neil had pledged that GB News would not copy Fox News’ “shouty” and polarising programming”
After a row over the broadcaster, Guto Harri, taking the knee live on air in July, the channel attracted zero viewers during some of its broadcasts. Viewers boycotted the channel in protest of Harri’s decision to take the knee.
Mr Neil is also said to have clashed with GB News’s Chief Executive, Angelos Frangopoulos, according to i.
While Andrew Neil had pledged that GB News would not copy Fox News’ “shouty” and polarising programming, Frangopoulos is keen to position the channel as a firmly opinionated British version of the conservative US channel, Fox News.
With Andrew Neil now stepping down from his major roles at the broadcaster, perhaps the channel will head in a more assertively, conservative direction.
Nonetheless, Mr Neil will continue working with GB News in a smaller capacity. He has said he will remain a twice-weekly contributor to Nigel Farage’s nightly 7pm show. Mr Neil will also return to the BBC as a panellist on Thursday night’s episode of Question Time.
Featured image courtesy of HM Treasury via Flickr. Image license can be found here. No changes were made to this image.
Sanjana Idnani
Sanjana is an English literature student at the University of Bristol and an aspiring journalist. She is particularly interested in writing about the arts, climate change, and inclusivity!