Who is Victoria Derbyshire? | The Irish Sun

VICTORIA Derbyshire is a familiar face in the box thanks to her long career as a newsreader and broadcaster.

But who is she and why did she replace Laura Kuenssberg? Here you will find everything you need to know.

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Who is Victoria Derbyshire?

Victoria Derbyshire, born October 2, 1968, is a British journalist, newsreader and broadcaster.

The award-winning broadcaster began her career on BBC radio before moving to television.

Derbyshire has worked on television news and political programs including BBC News Channel, Watchdog, Newsnight and Panorama.

Away from the television world, Derbyshire is married to her partner Mark Sandell.

The couple, who had been together for over a decade, married in a low-key ceremony at their Surrey home in 2018.

They are parents of two children – sons Oliver and Joe.

Why did Victoria Derbyshire replace Laura Kuenssberg?

In October 2023, presenter Laura Kuenssberg was replaced by Victoria Derbyshire on the BBC’s flagship political news program, broadcast on Sundays at 9am.

The presenter was also missing from the show a week earlier – her absence was due to “personal reasons”.

According to reports, the reason for Kuenssberg’s absence is that her father, Nick Kuenssberg, one of Scotland’s most prominent business figures, died on October 2, 2023 at the age of 80.

Why was the Victoria Derbyshire Show canceled?

The Victoria Derbyshire Show was a popular current affairs series that aired every weekday for five years – before it was canceled by the BBC in 2020 due to excessive costs.

Amol Rajan said the BBC’s demands for cuts were “too high” despite a flood of nominations and wins.

In a social media post at the time, he wrote: “The Victoria Derbyshire Show is no longer airing. I understand that @BBCNews is committed to Victoria and the show’s (award-winning) journalism.”

“The cost of the linear channel, when savings are required, is considered too high. BBC declined to comment ahead of an announcement next week.”

When did Victoria Derbyshire have cancer?

Four months after she started hosting her current show, Victoria was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2015.

She recorded video diaries about her cancer treatment, from mastectomy to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which went viral and were viewed millions of times.

In 2020, Victoria Derbyshire revealed how scared she was after receiving the diagnosis during a guest appearance on I’m A Celebrity.

During an episode of the popular show, Victoria and EastEnders star Jessica Plummer had an “open and honest” conversation about her devastating cancer diagnosis.

She asked Victoria if she had sought private medical treatment during her cancer journey.

The journalist replied: “No, the NHS. Astonishing. NHS are great. You saved my life. You saved my life, you know.”

Victoria also spoke about the shocking side effect of her diagnosis – that she and her husband could “barely speak to each other”.

“We could barely talk, you know. We could barely speak to each other,” she explained.

“We’re speakers, we’re open, we are, you know, and we just didn’t have words because honestly I just thought I was going to die,” she told Jessica, then revealed the sad thoughts she had time went through my head.

Derbyshire added: “Seriously, I’m going to die.” And then I thought, I’m not going to see my boys grow up, I’m not going to grow old with Mark [Sandell]”I mean, it was just, I just thought my luck was running out, you know.”

She was also one of eight women to appear in ITV’s The Real Full Monty: Ladies Night – an entertainment documentary to raise awareness of breast cancer.