The journalist who launched the BBC's ill-fated The Nine current affairs programme has returned as its new Director in Scotland.
Haley Valentine will take over from Steve Carson when he vacates the role early next month.
Ms Valentine, who is also a former Executive Producer of Question Time, helped launch The Nine in February 2019 from an open-plan studio space on the third floor at BBC Scotland's Pacific Quay HQ in Glasgow.
She left BBC Scotland in November last year to become Director at BBC Midlands, three months before the decision to scrap The Nine and replace it with a 30-minute news programme was announced.
Less than a year later, Ms Valentine is returning north of the border to take up the job of leading the BBC in Scotland.
She said: “I am thrilled to have been asked to lead BBC Scotland. There is a wealth of first-class creative talent in Scotland within the BBC and across the wider sector.
“I am looking forward to working with them all to create the highest quality content for our audiences in Scotland, and to represent Scotland to audiences across the UK and beyond. I really can’t wait to get started”.
An experienced journalist, Ms Valentine joined the BBC in 1996 and has been Director of Current Affairs at Mentorn, Head of News at Radio 5 Live, Head of the BBC Radio newsroom as well as the launch editor of The Nine news programme.
The corporation said that Ms Valentine brings a “remarkable range of experience” to her new role from both inside the BBC and working in the independent production sector in Scotland.
The Nine launched to great fanfare five years ago, with more than More than 750,000 people tuned in for the programme's first show.
However, viewing plummeted towards the end of its time on TV, with reports claiming there was one day in January this year when only 1,700 viewers watched.
Angus Robertson, the Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Culture, said the decision to axe the programme was "extremely disappointing".
“I know she is determined to build on BBC Scotland’s editorial success - strengthening its online services and working with partners right across the sector to ensure Scotland packs a creative punch not just at home, but internationally too.”
READ MORE:
- BBC Scotland’s Nine axed - where does that leave the channel?
- Ofcom approves BBC Scotland decision to axe flagship news show
- I spent a night watching the BBC Scotland channel - here's my verdict
A graduate of Edinburgh University, Hayley worked as a journalist at DC Thomson and Radio Forth before joining the BBC.
The BBC said its new Director in Scotland would lead the development of a wide range content and services for audiences in across television, radio and online, which including BBC Reporting Scotland, Sportscene, Disclosure, BBC Radio Scotland, the BBC Scotland channel, and the work of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
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