VICTORIA Derbyshire is a familiar face on the box thanks to her long career as a newsreader and broadcaster.
But who is she and why has she replaced Laura Kuenssberg? Here’s everything you need to know.
Who is Victoria Derbyshire?
Victoria Derbyshire, born October 2, 1968, is a British journalist, newsreader and broadcaster.
The award-winning broadcaster first started her career in BBC radio before making the switch to television.
Derbyshire has worked on television news and political programmes including the BBC News Channel, Watchdog, Newsnight and Panorama.
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Away from the world of television, Derbyshire is married to her partner Mark Sandell.
The pair, who had already been together for over a decade, married in a low-key ceremony at their home in Surrey in 2018.
They are the parents of two children - sons Oliver and Joe.
Why has Victoria Derbyshire replaced Laura Kuenssberg?
In October 2023, host Laura Kuenssberg was replaced by Victoria Derbyshire on the flagship political BBC news show - which is broadcast at 9am on Sundays.
The presenter was also missing from the show a week prior - with her absence being a result of ‘’personal reasons’’.
According to reports, the reason for Kuenssberg’s absence is because her father, Nick Kuenssberg, one of Scotland’s best-known business figures, died the age of 80 on October 2, 2023.
Why was The Victoria Derbyshire Show axed?
The Victoria Derbyshire Show was a popular current affairs series that aired every weekday for five years - before being axed in 2020 by the BBC because it cost too much.
Amol Rajan explained that despite being showered with award nominations and wins, the savings demanded by the BBC were "too high".
In a social media post at the time, he wrote: "The Victoria Derbyshire Show is coming off air. I understand @BBCNews is committed to Victoria + the (award-winning) journalism of the show.
"Cost of doing it on linear channel when savings are needed deemed too high. BBC declined to comment ahead of an announcement next week."
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When did Victoria Derbyshire have cancer?
Four months after she began fronting her current affairs programme, Victoria was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2015.
She recorded video diaries about her cancer treatment, from her mastectomy through chemotherapy and radiotherapy that went viral and were viewed millions of times.
In 2020, during a stint on I’m A Celebrity, Victoria Derbyshire revealed how terrified she felt after receiving the diagnosis.
During an episode of the popular show, Victoria and EastEnders star Jessica Plummer had a "frank and honest" conversation about her devastating cancer diagnosis.
She asked Victoria if she went with private medical treatment during her cancer journey.
The journalist replied: "No the NHS. Amazing. NHS are superb. They saved my life. They saved my life, you know."
Victoria also opened up about the shocking side effect of her diagnosis - that she and her husband "could barely speak" to each other.
"We could barely speak, you know. We could barely speak to each other,’’ she explained.
"We are talkers, we are open, we are you know, and we just had no words because honestly all I was thinking was I'm going to die," she told Jessica and then revealed the sad thoughts going through her head at the time.
Derbyshire added: ‘’Seriously, I'm going to die. And then, I thought I'm not going to see my boys grow up, I'm not going to grow old with Mark [Sandell], I mean it was just, I just thought my luck's run out, you know."
She was also one of eight women to appear on ITV's The Real Full Monty: Ladies Night – an entertainment documentary to raise awareness of breast cancer.
