Guest presenters line up for BBC World Service's Newshour

BBC World Service's award-winning news and current affairs programme Newshour will be hosted by five guest presenters, from Monday 26 September to Friday 30 September.
The presenters – drawn from the world of international broadcasting and media – will each present the programme for one edition at 13:00 GMT, which will air to a global audience. The line-up includes:

Renowned broadcaster, journalist and author Jeremy Paxman, who anchors the BBC's flagship television news and current-affairs programme Newsnight and who has hosted the BBC's University Challenge programme since 1994. He launches the week as Newshour's first guest presenter on Monday 26 September.

Christine Ockrent, one of France's most respected journalists, the first woman to anchor the evening news on French TV, former editor of the weekly news magazine l'Express and of the flagship TV political programme France-Europe Express, will be in the presenter seat on Tuesday 27 September.

Broadcaster and journalist Redi Tlhabi who has hosted a variety of news programmes on the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and presents primetime shows for Talk Radio 702 in Johannesburg and 567 Cape Talk in Capetown, South Africa, will present Newshour on Wednesday 28 September from Johannesburg, South Africa.

Award-winning journalist, broadcaster and one of the most experienced foreign correspondents, Christiane Amanpour, who has over two decades of experience reporting from some of the world's major conflicts and now hosts This Week with Christiane Amanpour on ABC News in the USA, will anchor Newshour from New York, USA, on Thursday 29 September.
Journalist Evan Davis, who presents BBC Radio 4's leading news and current-affairs programme Today in the UK and was previously the BBC's economics editor, will be the final guest presenter on Friday 30 September.

Andrew Whitehead, editor BBC World Service News, says: "I'm delighted to have such a renowned line-up of international journalists and broadcasters in the presenting seat for Newshour – all bringing their own expertise and flair to one of the most challenging roles in news broadcasting, tackling a global agenda and serving a global audience."

Newshour is BBC World Service's leading international news and current-affairs programme, which broadcasts two editions a day every day of the year, to audiences around the world.
Broadcasting live from Bush House in London and on location, Newshour covers the big breaking news stories, as well as wider analysis and interviews. Covering stories from a global context, as well as featuring interviews with leading figures, debate and discussion, the programme also draws on the expertise of BBC correspondents around the world, including BBC World Service's multi-lingual journalists, who provide unique insight and expertise on local and regional issues.
In May 2010, for the second time in three years, Newshour won Best News & Current Affairs Programme at the UK's Sony Awards. Two of Newshour's regular presenters, Owen Bennett Jones and Lyse Doucet, have both been Sony News Journalists of the Year.
Newshour is broadcast globally on BBC World Service's English network, which has a total weekly reach of 43 million (*2011 World Service annual review).
In the UK, BBC World Service posted a weekly UK reach of 1.72 million in August 2011 – up from 1.29m last year and close to last quarter's record of 1.79m (source: RAJAR 2011 Quarter 2) BBC World Service has a total weekly reach of 9.9 million in the US (source: Arbitron Fall 2010 radio ratings)

(BBC World Service Press Office)