Dermot Murnaghan and Fiona Bruce named as UK’s sexiest newsreaders
Sky News’ Dermot Murnaghan and the BBC’s Fiona Bruce, have been named as the nation’s sexiest newsreaders. The presenters came top of a poll of 2,000 Brits to reveal the best looking news anchors and reporters on the UK’s television screens.
Other male newsreaders who catch viewers’ attention included ITV’s Mark Austen, George Alagiah from the BBC and his co-anchor Huw Edwards.
Sky’s Eamonn Holmes, Channel 4′s evening news host Jon Snow and Sir Trevor McDonald also featured favourably in the poll, commissioned to mark the launch of HBO’s The Newsroom on Blu-ray and DVD.
The most popular female news readers included Natasha Kaplinsky from ITV and Kate Silverton and Susanna Reid from the BBC.
Robert Cole, former BBC and Sky News’ news editor, said: ”The news is something that almost everyone watches at some stage – whether you have a favourite show you watch religiously or you simply catch an update whenever you can.
”Having the right person fronting the show is important and can be the deciding factor for people when they are choosing which news programme to watch.
“And it seems for some people it helps if that person is good looking!”
But, the results showed that when not taking looks solely into consideration, the nation’s favourite newsreader is Sir Trevor McDonald, closely followed by Bill Turnbull, Fiona Bruce and Jon Snow.
Researchers also revealed that a third of Brits would be more likely to watch the news if the anchor was good-looking.
And another 35% would get their news update on a different channel to their usual choice if their favourite anchor changed jobs.
It also emerged that the average adult will watch just over three hours of news programmes a week with BBC the most popular channel.
But while 41% say they are most likely to get their news update from watching a TV programme, more than a third now read the news online while another 13% rely on the radio to keep them up to date.
A spokesman for HBO’s The Newsroom added: ”These findings are fascinating and show how the public still have a real vested interest in TV news broadcasting.
”Shows such as The Newsroom are rare at showing what is really involved in making the news for TV.
”The fact that nearly half of people surveyed gets their news updates from watching TV news is significant and highlights the importance of broadcast news programmes to continue to react and ensure their viewers are kept up-to-date.”
The Newsroom: The Complete First Season is now available on Blu-ray and DVD from HBO Home Entertainment.
Top ten sexiest female newsreaders
1. Fiona Bruce
2. Natasha Kaplinsky
3. Kate Silverton
4. Susanna Reid
5. Kate Garraway
6. Charlotte Hawkins
7. Julie Etchingham
8. Penny Smith
9. Sophie Raworth
10. Moira Stewart
Top ten sexiest males newsreaders
1. Dermot Murnaghan
2. Mark Austin
3. George Alagiah
4. Huw Edwards
5. Eamonn Holmes
6. Jon Snow
7. Trevor McDonald
8. Matt Barbet
9. Bill Turnbull
10. Stephen Dixon