Sian Williams is the new 'face' of 5 News at 5

(Image credit: BBC News & Current Affairs via G)

The popular news anchor Sian Williams has been named as the new face of Channel 5's 5 News at 5.

Sian is best known as a presenter of BBC Breakfast  for 10 years and she currently presents Sunday Morning Live on BBC1.

Channel 5 said 5 News at 5 is the first early peak terrestrial news broadcast of the day and is a pillar of the Channel 5 schedule. It was nominated twice in a row for RTS Programme of the Year in both 2014 and 2015.

Sian, who joins in the New Year, said: "I’ve always admired ITN’s approach to news and 5 News’ output, both domestic and international, is consistently high quality and accessible. With Channel 5 pledging to boost its coverage even further, it’s a terrific opportunity and an exciting challenge to join this talented and impressive team.”

Hugely respected across the industry and with nearly three decades of journalistic experience in production, reporting and presentation, as well as anchoring BBC Breakfast, Sian has presented all the main BBC One News bulletins and continues to make documentaries for BBC Radio 4.

Beyond broadcasting, Sian is a trained trauma assessor with an MSc in Psychology. She’s written for newspapers and academic journals and given keynote speeches on recovery after trauma at universities and psychology conventions.

5 News Editor Cristina Nicolotti Squires added: “I’m really excited about welcoming Sian to the 5 News team. Her deep connection with the audience plus her rich background in broadcasting make her the perfect person to bring the news to life for our viewers.”

Matt Barbet will continue to present 5 News Tonight daily at 6.30pm and The Saturday Show at 09:30– 11:30.

 

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.