Darren Jordon leaves BBC News

Darren Jordon is the latest big name presenter to join Al-Jazeera International, the BBC has confirmed.

Darren, who had been at the corporation for eight years, is due to leave at the end of the month and is expected to become a co-presenter for Shiulie Ghosh in Qatar.

Darren joined BBC Sport as a broadcast journalist in 1998, following a three-year stint as a sports broadcaster in South Africa.

He made the move to Television News in 1999, when he became a presenter on BBC News 24.

He also presented on BBC World, where he went on to anchor a number of international news events, before his appointment as Special Reporter for the BBC’s One O’Clock News.

A move to BBC Breakfast followed, with Darren presenting the programme at weekends, and he later became a familiar face to primetime audiences when he became the regular presenter of all the weekend bulletins on BBC ONE.

He has also presented the BBC’s Six O’Clock and Ten O’Clock news bulletins.

Darren said: “I’ve had a wonderful time at the BBC; I’ve learnt an awful lot and worked with some exceptionally talented individuals.

“The move, however, comes at the right time for me and I look forward to the fresh challenges that it will, no doubt, present.”

The BBC’s Head of Television News, Peter Horrocks, added: “I’m sorry to see Darren go. He is an extremely accomplished news presenter