Channel 4 presenter Fatima Manji has quit the news show after 12 years.
The newsreader took to X - formerly Twitter - to share the update with her followers. She wrote: "Uh hum. News of my own: I’ve decided to leave @Channel4News! I’ll miss the madness of news and feedback from viewers here, but after twelve(!) years, it’s time for new adventures…"
Fatima was flooded with messages from her colleagues and fans as she teased her future project. One said: "I've really valued your reporting, Fatima, and i hope there'll be more! Thanks for your hard work and insights." Another added: "Best wishes sis." Someone else said: Fatima. You've been a trailblazer and you will be missed. Good luck with whatever you do next."
A fourth commented: "Aww wow! I’ve done many many interviews since, but still remember just how kind you were when we met all those years ago. Hope you’re proud of all your amazing reporting." A fan added: "You did it brilliantly! Good luck with whatever comes next… I really hope you’ll still be reporting." Another wrote: "Oh wow Fatima, will hugely miss you on TV and in the building, but wish you all the best for the next chapter xxx."
"Such a huge loss for broadcast journalism! But so looking forward to seeing what you do next x," wrote someone else. Fatima became Britain's first hijab-wearing TV newsreader in March 2016. Speaking of her journalism career, she "made a really informed career decision at the age of eight. I wanted to be where history is made, I wanted to be in the centre of things", she told The Guardian in December 2016. "No one told me I'd be standing in a muddy field talking about floods, in waders. Maybe if they had, I'd have rethought."
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Fatima was a newsreader at Channel 4 News since 2016Fatima started her career as a trainee at the BBC for BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and later BBC Look East. In 2012, she joined Channel 4 News as a reporter and became a newsreader in March 2016. She held Britain's first ever alternative election debate featuring young leaders on Channel 4.
During her career, Fatima became a finalist for the Royal Television Society's Young Journalist of the Year award as well as a finalist in the Broadcast category of the Words by Women Awards. She was named Media Personality of the Year at the Asian Media Awards in 2016.
Kelvin MacKenzie prompted outrage when he questioned if it was appropriate for Fatima to wear a hijab while presenting the news following the 2016 Nice terrorist attack. She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I respect individuals’ choices and I respect individual women’s choices. I respect people’s journalism when they are interested in telling the truth - something Kelvin MacKenzie repeatedly has not been interested in."
Fatima appeared to reference 'The Truth' - MacKenzie's infamous and false front page headline slurring the victims of Hillsborough. "In the days following his column’s publication I was worried for my safety, my family was worried, my employer was worried," she said. "Freedom of speech is my bread and butter. [But] I can't just walk down the street and say what I like and yell abuse at your without there being consequences."
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