Silverton to present new bulletin

Kate joined BBC News 24 in 2004

Kate Silverton is to present the BBC's new 2000GMT news bulletin, the corporation has announced.

The newsreader, who currently hosts on BBC Breakfast and BBC News 24, will present the 90-second update when it begins on 10 December.

The 37-year-old will also stand in for Sophie Raworth on the One O'Clock News when she goes on maternity leave in the new year.

Silverton worked as a corporate financier before joining the media.

"I am delighted with the whole range of new challenges BBC News has offered me," Silverton said.

Media scrutiny

"It is professionally exciting to have the opportunity to work on output as diverse as Panorama, foreign reporting, factual entertainment and presenting major bulletins."

THE EDITORS' BLOG The summary is an extra offering from BBC News. It won't replace anything Craig Oliver, Editor, BBC Ten O'Clock News Craig's comments in full

Silverton joined BBC News 24 in 2004 and in the last year has reported from Iraq, Lesotho and Los Angeles, where she covered the Oscars ceremony.

She also worked on a number of special reports for Panorama, including investigations into flood prevention and the consequences of delayed motherhood and falling birth rates in the UK.

The presenter was the subject of media scrutiny in 2005 when News 24 co-host Philip Hayton told reporters he had quit after being paired with Silverton.

"I think incompatibility sums it up and I don't think she would disagree with that," he told Media Guardian.

The BBC defended Silverton at the time, saying: "The characterisation of Kate Silverton is one that few, if any, would recognise."