BBC’s Sian Williams set to quit Breakfast

Breakfast presenter Sian Williams has hinted that she will quit the BBC morning programme following the announcement the show will move to Salford Quays. Miss Williams, who has presented the show since 2001, has said she wants to put the future of her family first.

In two separate interviews, the 45-year-old presenter said she was uncertain whether she could continue to present Breakfast if the programme moved to Greater Manchester. Miss Williams currently has four children at her London home. The move north is expected to clash with one of her children sitting their A-Levels, whilst her youngest child is just over one year old. Her father, recently widowed, also lives in the southeast.

Sources close to the BBC presenter said that was ‘wedded’ to London and felt she could not move outside the capital.

Co-presenter Bill Turnbull and Sports presenter Chris Hollins have also raised questions over the proposed move. Speaking at the weekend, Mr Hollins said ”What is most disappointing is that I don’t think [the move] is an economic decision or an editorial decision; it’s merely a political decision”.

Weekend Breakfast presenter Susanna Reid is also thought to have reservations about the relocation.

Questions have also been raised over whether the programme could still attract top guests if the show moved outside of London.

The BBC announced that Breakfast would move to Salford Quays last month. It is thought that the corporation found that there was greater studio space in the new production site than originally anticipated. Peter Salmon, director of BBC North, said that the decision to relocate Breakfast was “a defining moment in how the show develops”.