Paul Brand announced as new host of ITV's Tonight

Etchingham, who has been the host of the long-running current affairs programme since 2010, is leaving to concentrate on the News at Ten, and ITV has revealed that she also has other major documentary projects in the pipeline.

Recently, Brand exclusively revealed the video showing Downing Street staff joking about a Christmas party, and was named Political Journalist of the Year at the British Journalism Awards 2020.

He also previously led an investigation for Tonight in November entitled Searching for Patient Zero: Britain's AIDS Tragedy. The investigation solved the 40-year mystery of the first recorded person to die of AIDS in the UK, John Eaddie.

Brand said: "To present a show previously fronted by two titans of broadcasting - Julie Etchingham and Sir Trevor McDonald - is a huge honour. Having reported for the Tonight programme in the past, I have already had the pleasure of working with many of the enormously talented team behind Britain's most-watched weekly current affairs programme.

"I am delighted to be making this a weekly commitment, alongside my role as UK Editor for ITV News. At a time when the world often feels as if it is in a perpetual state of crisis, Tonight will continue to play a vital role in exploring and explaining the events around us."

Michael Jermey, Director of News and Current Affairs at ITV, said: "Paul is an excellent journalist with an impressive track record of finding and reporting exclusive stories.

"He cares about people and how their lives are affected, for good or ill, by decisions taken by those in authority. Paul's forensic reporting and his natural empathy will both be great assets for the Tonight programme."

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