BBC Breakfast star Nina Warhurst is taking a short break from the programme, with her co-host Ben Thompson presenting solo on Sunday (February 16).
The pair are normally seen together on Sundays, but viewers noticed Ben holding the fort by himself today as Nina enjoys some family time during half term.
Nina hasn’t made an official statement about her absence, but she did post on Instagram on Saturday (February 15), sharing a snapshot of her son at the Horrible Histories tour at Manchester’s Palace Theatre.
“Half term is GO with Terrible Tudors,” she wrote alongside the image. “It was gory, funny and pacey (crucially under 2 hrs all up).”
Having joined the BBC East Midlands team in 2010, Nina has since worked with BBC North West, Sunday Politics North West, and BBC Sport before joining BBC Breakfast in 2018. She took over from Steph McGovern as the business presenter in 2020, reports the Express.
Nina is also known for filling in for other presenters on weekdays. This week, she reported from the Royal Free Hospital in London to explore the impact of NHS pressures on staff.
Jon Kay and Sally Nugent typically anchor BBC Breakfast from Monday to Wednesday, with Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt stepping in from Thursday to Saturday.
This week, however, saw Ben stepping in for Charlie for four days straight, which puzzled some viewers. Charlie has not yet explained his recent absence from the show.
On today’s programme, Ben brought viewers up to speed with the latest news stories, including a British couple detained in Iran, a recent shooting incident in Kent, and what’s anticipated at the forthcoming BAFTA Film Awards.
In a “breaking” update during the live show, Ben also shared that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to engage in talks with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia soon, aiming to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
Ben went on to say, “That comes as Sir Keir Starmer and other European leaders prepare to meet tomorrow at an emergency summit over concerns that Europe is being locked out of the peace talks,” before transitioning to a segment from the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet, who provided a pre-recorded report from Munich as the annual Security Conference wrapped up.
The studio also welcomed Chetan Pathak for the sports segment and Simon King, who delivered regular weather forecasts.
BBC Breakfast airs daily on BBC One at 6am