Hugo Rifkind to replace Matt Chorley on Times Radio mid-morning show

Hugo Rifkind is taking over the mid-morning show on Times Radio, replacing Matt Chorley.

The broadcaster and Times columnist starts the Monday to Thursday slot on Monday 9th September.

Rifkind has been writing for The Times since 2001, after previously contributing to The Herald, The Spectator and GQ.

He is also the author of two novels, the most recent of which, Rabbits, was published in 2024.

A frequent panellist on BBC Radio 4’s the News Quiz, and the presenter of Campaign Sidebar (2015) and Hugo Rifkind’s Search For Power (2019), he was also part of the launch line-up for Times Radio in 2020, presenting a Saturday morning show.

From 2012 to 2024, he wrote a TV column in the Times’s Saturday Review section. He will continue to write his weekly opinion column in The Times and My Week, a diary parody of a person in the news.

Hugo Rifkind said: “I have adored presenting on Times Radio on Saturday mornings these past four years, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be moving over to weekdays.

“I was a huge fan of Matt Chorley’s show, and he’s left big shoes to fill. I’m looking forward to getting stuck in, making the show into even more of an unmissable landmark for news and politics addicts than it has been until now.”

Tim Levell, programme director of Times Radio, said: “Hugo’s Saturday morning show has been one of the delights of the Times Radio schedule. Our listeners love his intelligence, wit and curiosity. This new show will mean even more people get to enjoy him. And its focus on all the big news and political developments of the morning will ensure our listeners stay across the latest as they go about their day.”

Times Radio will announce its plans for its Friday and Saturday morning shows soon, and Matt hosts his last show today ahead of joining 5 Live.