SCOTLAND’s new nightly news programme will take less formal look at the news, the corporation has revealed.
The nine o’clock news programme for the BBC Scotland digital channel, which it is calling The Nine, will feature anchors Rebecca Curran and Martin Geissler broadcasting from a set in the BBC’s headquarters at Pacific Quay in Glasgow.
The open-plan studio space, on the 3rd floor, will feature a purple sofa, a glass-topped desk, and will be introduced with a theme tune penned by a Scottish composer.
The opening credits will show a series of portraits of people from across Scotland.
The show, the flagship programme of the new channel, which will launch in February, will feature international, UK and Scottish news.
READ MORE: BBC unveils vision for new Scotland channel
BBC Scotland has hired 80 journalists to work on the channel, including new correspondents.
However, despite the more relaxed set – Mr Geissler and Ms Curran will not be reading the news from behind a desk – Hayley Valentine, editor of the programme, said it will still be a serious evening news show.
She said: “We are hoping to bring our audiences something else: clearly there is a very busy news market out there, so we are really focussing on original journalism, and we really hope to break stories, and show stories that you don’t see elsewhere.
“On tone and style…we aim to be a little more informal, we will have authority, but we aim to be conversational, informal and inclusive, and wherever you are in the country, you can see it reflected back to you.”
The hour long running time will allow for more in depth interviews and news stories, as well as exclusive stories, she said.
READ MORE: Newer and younger? New BBC channel's vision
Ms Valentine said: “We are very definitely a news programme – it has two presenters and a sofa, and we want that relationship to be part of the programme, but that is as far as it goes.”
She added: “It is very much a programme, not a bulletin, and we have an hour which feels like a luxury.
“It will allow to use longer films, allow interviews to breathe, and allow live guests, live correspondents and a variety of different packages.
“We will aim to bring the best of the BBC, so you will see some well-kent faces from the 6 o’clock news and 10 o’clock news, alongside the best of what is on BBC Scotland.”
It will be broadcast from Monday to Friday from 9pm.
Laura Miller and John Beattie will present the news hour each Friday.
Weekend coverage comprises a 15-minute bulletin on Saturday evenings at 7.00pm followed by a 45-minute review programme presented by Fiona Stalker and Nick Sheridan. On Sundays, the 15-minute 7.00pm bulletin will be presented by Lucy Whyte.
Ms Curran moves into her new role as co-anchor after two years in BBC Scotland’s Aberdeen newsroom.
She started her career at Northsound Radio and then spent three years at STV before joining the BBC in 2016.
Mr Geissler was most recently a news correspondent with ITN, and in a long career has reported on the Iraq war, the Afghan conflict, Hurricane Katrina, the Boxing Day tsunami, the crisis inside Zimbabwe.
Previously Europe, Africa and Scotland correspondent for ITN, he started his television career with Sky News in Scotland, and has worked as a reporter and presenter for STV and as a correspondent for Sky Sports.
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