BBC broadcaster Edward Stourton dies at the age of 68 | BBC

Journalist Edward Stourton has died at the age of 68.

The BBC Radio 4 presenter is best known for presenting current affairs programs including Today, World at One and the Sunday Religious and Moral Affairs series.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) said in a statement that the man died on Saturday surrounded by his family after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014.

Former colleagues praised a man they described as an outstanding broadcaster.

Jonathan Munro, who runs BBC news and current affairs, said: “It is too soon to lose Ed.” “I worked as his producer when he was ITN’s diplomatic editor – and he was quiet then and forever. Many years later, I would listen to his brilliant analysis of the BBC’s new Pope – another of his many areas of expertise.

“Not many broadcasters can do Today programmes, BBC One’s One O’Clock News, The World at One and Sunday, but he did. He left a huge gap.”

Mohit Bakaya, controller of BBC Radio 4, said Stourton was an “absolutely outstanding broadcaster”. He added: “He brought intelligence, authority and an extraordinary hinterland to everything he did. When Ed was behind the microphone, whether on Sundays or the various news programs he regularly presents for Radio 4, you felt you understood the world a little better. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this sad time.”

Stourton has had a distinguished career in broadcasting, working for the BBC and ITN, which produces Channel 4 News. He spent almost a decade presenting Radio 4’s flagship Today programme, and also presented One O’Clock News and Any Questions, as well as Radio 4’s Sunday program and BBC One’s Panorama.

He joined ITN from university in 1979 and became a founder member of Channel 4 News three years later. Starting out as a screenwriter, he moved to covering foreign news, becoming the program’s first Washington correspondent in 1986, reporting on the final years of the Reagan presidency.

In 1988, he began a two-year stint as a BBC correspondent in Paris, ending when he rejoined ITN as Diplomatic Editor. He wrote from Baghdad during the Gulf War, from Bosnia during the Siege of Sarajevo, and from Moscow in the last days of the Soviet Union.

He returned to the BBC in 1993 and presented One O’Clock News for six years. He also presented editions of Assignment during his time with the broadcaster and had his own phone-in show on Radio 4, Call Ed Stourton. He joined the Today Show in 1999 and, after presenting it, later became a regular contributor.

Since 2009, Stourton has presented The World at One and The World This Weekend.

He was a Roman Catholic and hosted Radio 4’s Sunday Program and BBC One’s The Heaven and Earth Show, as well as documentaries such as Absolute Truth, a four-part series on BBC Two about the Catholic Church.

He was born in Nigeria, where his father resides, in 1957, and grew up in the United Kingdom. Stourton studied English literature at Cambridge University. He is survived by his wife, Fiona Stourton, and four children.

In his 2023 memoir Confessions, Stourton revealed that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer nearly a decade earlier. Amy Rylance, director of health services, equality and improvement at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “We are grateful to him for speaking openly about his diagnosis in his memoir, and in doing so raising life-saving awareness among men across the country.”

“Prostate cancer often has no symptoms in the early stages, but the earlier you catch it, the easier it is to treat. That’s why it’s so important for men to be aware of the disease, to know their risks, and to know what they can do about it. You can find out now with Prostate Cancer UK’s 30-second online risk checker.”