Victoria Derbyshire 'absolutely devastated' after learning of show's axe in newspaper

The presenter said she is "unbelievably proud" of what she and her team have achieved on the show

Victoria Derbyshire has said she is “absolutely devastated” to learn that her BBC Two programme is being cancelled by the BBC.

In a series of tweets, the presenter revealed that she “first learned about [the decision] in yesterday Times”.

She wrote: “I’m unbelievably proud of what our team and our show have achieved in under 5 years, breaking tonnes of original stories (which we were asked to do); attracting a working class, young, diverse audience that BBC radio & TV news progs just don’t reach (which we were asked to do); & smashing the digital figures (which we were asked to do).

“I’m gutted particularly for our brilliant, young, ambitious, talented team – love ‘em. And for all those people we gave a voice to. Love them too.”

The director of BBC News and current affairs Fran Unsworth said it had “not been an easy decision” to cancel Derbyshire’s programme, blaming changing audience behaviours for the move.

In an email to staff on Thursday, Ms Unsworth wrote: “Over the last five years, the programme has delivered award-winning, distinctive journalism, exploring topics which the BBC has not traditionally covered.

“From its ground-breaking interviews on abuse in football to uncovering the complications caused by mesh implants and revealing failures in the tax credit system which affected working-class women, the programme has championed important stories and fresh reporting talent.

Victoria Derbyshire with the BAFTA for Best News Coverage in 2017
PA Archive/PA Images

“This is exactly the type of journalism we need to continue, reaching audiences who are often under-served by the BBC, and we will be retaining some of the programme’s journalism roles to enable us to continue this work. We will outline further details of this next week.”

She said: “Victoria is a hugely talented and engaging presenter and will continue to be a central part of the BBC News team.

“She will be taking a wider role across our broadcast and digital output and will continue to lead on some of the high-profile audience events and original stories she has championed so effectively in recent years.”

Ms Unsworth added: “I would like to pay tribute to Victoria and her whole team who’ve worked so hard, and achieved such great results, over the past few years.

“However, audience behaviours are changing. Linear television viewing is declining, and as we progress with our £80 million savings target, it is no longer cost-effective to continue producing the programme on television.

“The show’s journalism makes a huge impact online, and we remain committed to building on that and giving those stories the widest possible audience across our outlets.

“The people affected directly by this change have been informed of this proposal. This is part of a wider series of changes which we will be announcing next week. I know times of change are never easy and I want to thank you all for your professionalism throughout.”

Earlier today (January 23), Derbyshire issued a defiant message to BBC bosses during the show's live broadcast, telling viewers: "We are still here, telling your stories and covering the issues that are important in your life.

"And you know what? We don't give up."

With reporting by Press Association

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