BBC Breakfast's Sally Nugent, who usually graces the red sofa every Monday morning, made a brief appearance today to pay tribute to her close friend Rob Burrow. Her heartfelt posts about Rob garnered quick support from fans.
Her absence was clarified by co-presenter Jon Kay, who announced that Sally will be hosting the new News at One from Salford. The lunchtime news will be broadcast live from its new location for the first time on Monday.
The move to Salford, announced last year as part of BBC News' restructuring, makes the News at One the first daily network TV news bulletin to be aired outside London, and it will now run for an hour instead of 30 minutes.
A team of familiar BBC News presenters, including Ben Brown, Anna Foster, Tina Daheley, Jon Kay, and Sally, will anchor the News at One from Salford. Sally will host the inaugural edition.
The programme will be extended to one hour and will feature a segment for regional news, reports Wales Online.
John McAndrew, Director of News Programmes, shared: "Moving the News at One to Salford to join BBC Breakfast delivers on our commitments to provide a news service that serves and reflects all communities across the UK, and support local talent and creative economies beyond London. The extended bulletin will bring the best of BBC News to a daytime audience - building on the success of the current bulletin and ensuring viewers have the best BBC reporting and analysis."
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Sally Nugent presided over the first broadcast, having first paid an emotional tribute to Rugby player Rob Burrow on Monday's Breakfast show. Over the years, Sally had followed Rob's battle with Motor Neurone Disease.
Clearly moved by his story, she said: "What matters is talking about that man. We have seen him as a player, we have seen that strength. He was 5ft 5ins, but we all should have known what a powerhouse he was. Everyone said he was too small, and he ignored them all and that is what made him so powerful. When you see him on the pitch, it is no surprise the man he was off the pitch too. He worked for his teammates, he was incredibly brave."
The grieving wife said: "They had been so looking forward to his retirement. They had so many plans, and what I love about Rob is he loved going to soft play with the kids. He would leave early because he wanted to be with the kids. That is what drove him, that is what motivated him. His family. The diagnosis came horribly quickly after he retired. He invited us in as his most vulnerable moments and he went on living a life. He refused to stay inside, and hide away."