BBC's Laura Kuenssberg hits back after it is claimed she's lost 700,000 viewers
Laura Kuenssberg has defended her falling viewing figures after it was claimed 700,000 people had switched off since she took over the BBC’s flagship Sunday politics programme from Andrew Marr.
The 47-year-old former BBC political editor had her first episode of Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg in September last year shortly before Liz Truss was revealed as Boris Johnson’s successor as Prime Minister. Andrew had presented The Andrew Marr Show in the Sunday slot for 16 years before leaving the corporation at the end of 2021.
Her programme got off to a flying start thanks to Joe Lycett's appearance, but it seems the BBC's flagship political show hasn't been able to retain a chunk of its audience, losing close to a million viewers since she took over last year. The comic pretended to be right wing during his time on the sofa and delivering a sarcastic response to then Prime Minister Liz Truss's appearance on the programme sparked social media uproar.
Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg has not been able to maintain its flying start (PA)But in an interview with the Telegraph, Laura insisted her show is in “great shape” and “up in terms of audience” following reports that TV ratings were down. She said: “The average viewing figures for Andrew Marr were 1.45 million in 2019, 1.36 million in 2018 and 1.5 million in 2017. The average since I took over is 1.5 million, which in a time of fracturing audience figures is bucking the trend.”
Laura also talked about the “whole ecosystem” of her reach which includes a weekend edition of Newscast with BBC Radio 4’s Paddy O’Connell along with her social media. She said: “We’re reaching a broader, more female demographic. I’m happy with where we are at but I am not going to relax.”
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Over the weekend, it was reported that live ratings for the flagship BBC show have dipped - with host Laura attracting 700,000 viewers less than her predecessor. According to The Sunday Times, BARB, which compiles audience measurement and television ratings in the UK, Marr used to regularly attract an average of 1.9 million per show during his 16 years of presenting The Andrew Marr Show. In comparison, Kuenssberg has seen her ratings dip to 1.2million in 2023.
A BBC spokesperson disputed the figures reported in The Sunday Times and said the totals don't include viewers watching on catch-up services. In a statement issued to the Mirror, they said: "These aren’t the right figures, as they don’t take into account the many people who watch on screens, phones or tablets and on iPlayer catch up, bringing the actual average to 1.5m, which broadly compares to Andrew Marr before the pandemic – it’s meaningless to use the extraordinary period of the pandemic as a comparison. We’re very pleased SWLK has become the weekend’s agenda-setting programme."
Since Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg launched, she has changed the format from Marr’s days to include a panel – which has featured comedians, journalists, actors and experts – that reacts to the week’s news. This has generated headline moments such as when comedian Joe Lycett appeared to sarcastically praise Ms Truss and jokingly claimed he was “very right-wing” during the first instalment of the programme.
Comedian Ben Elton also criticised Rishi Sunak during an appearance on the show in June after listening to the Prime Minister being interviewed. Kuenssberg also ruled out a Strictly Come Dancing appearance, saying “you’ll never catch me wearing sparkly pants” and said she steers clear of the personal in her job.
“Other people in your life don’t choose your work so why should they be the subject of anyone else’s attention?” she said. “I made that rule years ago and I’m not going to break it now.” She is set to head a BBC documentary, Laura Kuenssberg: State Of Chaos, which will look back at the Brexit referendum to the end of the leadership of Ms Truss.
Ahead of the first episode airing on Monday, Kuenssberg previously said: “The referendum result triggered years of turbulence in our politics – chaos inside the Conservative Party and Parliament, with prime ministers coming and going in quick succession. I want to take viewers behind the scenes to show them what really happened, and ask whether after all the craziness, politics will ever be the same again?”
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