Mary Beard listens to The World Tonight almost every evening before she goes to bed. After learning that the show has been axed by the BBC in the latest round of cost-saving cuts at the corporation, the renowned classicist said: “I’m very sad and I will miss it.”
The Radio 4 current affairs programme, which launched in 1970, has long been a staple of the BBC’s evening schedule, offering in-depth analysis of global events in a 45-minute format. For Beard, it provided “great, newsworthy brain food” to decompress with at the end of the day. She described it as an antidote to the “24-hour soundbites of social media” and urged the BBC to resist “social media news”. It is the corporation’s job, she said, “to show there’s a better alternative out there”.
She was cautious about the cycle of outrage that often follows announcements of BBC shakeups. “We are all reluctant to change,” she said, “but we are entering a news desert. We need more news programmes like The World Tonight, which are approachable, but do in-depth, hard-hitting, serious stuff.”
The decision to bring the show to an end in spring 2027 was confirmed last week by the BBC’s new director general, former Google executive Matt Brittin, who outlined sweeping changes at the organisation, including the loss of at least 550 jobs across news, TV and radio content. Up to 400 hours of audio content will be cut, as will 10% of senior leadership roles. In an email to staff, Brittin wrote the cuts were necessary as “audiences move online” and that the BBC needed to become “simpler and faster” by reducing duplication in its output.
“We live in very uncertain times,” he added. “Our audiences rely on us every day to keep them informed, entertained and equipped to make sense of the world. Making savings while fulfilling our mission means a doubly difficult time for everyone.” Brittin is currently on holiday but expected to address BBC staff on Tuesday.
The move has prompted strong reactions from current and former BBC figures. Robin Lustig, a former presenter of The World Tonight, wrote on X that he was “very sad” to find out it was being “killed off” and that it had “a long and honourable history as one of the more thoughtful BBC news programmes”.
Concerns have also been raised about the broader implications of the cuts. Philippa Childs, head of the media and entertainment union Bectu, said that BBC workers have already faced “never-ending” rounds of redundancies. “Relentless cuts of this kind have a profound impact… It does not make for a happy ship.”
She said that the 2027 Charter Renewal, a government review of the BBC’s finances and purpose that occurs every 10 years, must put “the BBC’s funding on a secure, long-term pathway or the government risks diminishing a public service broadcaster that is the envy of the world”.
This is only the “first phase” of cuts, delivering £160m of the £500m target. The BBC has said that further cuts will be set out in the coming months and predicted the loss of 1,800 to 2,000 jobs.
Additional reporting by Aleesha Naqvi
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