April 8, 2022

Isabel Oakeshott, the award-winning journalist and broadcaster, is returning to News UK as commentator, panellist and International Editor for TalkTV. 

Isabel, formerly Political Editor at The Sunday Times, will become a regular commentator and panellist on the station’s major new evening news and current affairs programme, hosted by Tom Newton Dunn. She will also take the role of International Editor for TalkTV, reporting on key news events from across the globe. Isabel will also appear regularly elsewhere in the TalkTV schedule.

TalkTV’s flagship, hour-long prime time news programme will give viewers the news that matters to them in a straight and balanced way. News UK’s stable of specialist journalists from print and broadcast will join Tom every night to share the very latest in their fields, from The Times‘s political team to The Sun‘s showbiz desk, talkSPORT‘s correspondents as well as business reporters from across News Corp’s titles. It will also feature agenda-setting interviews and a regular discussion panel drawn from across the political spectrum. 

Isabel Oakeshott said: “I’m delighted to be returning to News UK, which is both a bastion of free speech and home to a wealth of world-class journalistic talent. I’m excited to be joining Tom’s show as a regular commentator, as it seeks to redefine broadcast news and current affairs for contemporary audiences. And in my new role as International Editor, I look forward to reporting on the ground, on the biggest global news stories across the globe.”

Scott Taunton, EVP, President of Broadcasting at News UK, said: “Isabel is one of the most well known and influential journalists and broadcasters operating in the UK. I’m delighted that she is joining the TalkTV schedule and we have more big name announcements to come.

“TalkTV will be a new voice for viewers who are interested in straight talking opinions and expert insight on news and current affairs. The channel has been designed for the streaming age and will be accessible on linear TV as well as via social and on demand programming.”

Isabel is an authoritative political commentator. As well as her work at The Sunday Times she has been Political Editor-At-Large at the Daily Mail and has had staff jobs on many other national newspaper titles. She has been a regular and respected political commentator across UK broadcast media. 

Her many scoops include an expose of diplomatic telegrams written by British Ambassador to the United States Sir Kim Darroch, leading to his resignation. She has co-authored multiple high profile non-fiction books, including Life Support, on the state of the NHS; Call Me Dave, an unauthorised biography of former Prime Minister David Cameron; White Flag?, on the state of the UK armed forces; and Farmageddon, an investigation into the true cost of cheap meat. The latter, written with a charity, has been translated into five languages. 

TalkTV will begin broadcasting live in the UK from state-of-the-art studio facilities in Ealing and at News UK’s News Building headquarters in London Bridge.

TalkTV will go live for the first time on Monday 25th April on linear TV platforms Sky, Virgin Media, Freeview and Freesat. TalkTV will also be streamed via Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Samsung TV Plus and on YouTube, as well as via the Talk.TV website and TalkTV iOS and Android apps. TalkTV will also be available via Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Twitter.

Piers Morgan Uncensored, fronted by one of the most outspoken and popular figures in international broadcasting, will be a fearless forum for lively, intelligent debate and agenda-setting interviews; celebrating free speech and the right for people to share their views. In a global first, the new and unique sixty minute daily show will be broadcast on weeknights in the UK on TalkTV, streamed on FOX Nation in the US and aired in Australia on Sky News Australia. 

The primetime launch schedule will also see the debut of The Talk with the legendary Sharon Osbourne. Airing weeknights on TalkTV, the panel debate will bring together five opinionated famous faces – all from different backgrounds and with differing views – to debate the most interesting stories of the day.

Covering topics from the UK and around the world, the panellists will serve up their outspoken views in an honest and straight-talking debate. Across sixty minutes, the five personalities will deep dive into the issues most affecting viewers, from news to politics, crime to health and entertainment to sport.

TalkTV’s primetime schedule will also be simulcast on TalkRadio. And TalkRadio’s roster of daytime talent, including Julia Hartley-Brewer, Mike Graham, Ian Collins and Jeremy Kyle, will be broadcast on TalkTV. TalkRadio has seen fast growth in recent years across all platforms, including digital radio and the TalkRadio app, on YouTube and has been broadcasting successfully on TalkRadio TV since last year.

Everyone in the UK will be able to access TalkTV and its programming, live or on-demand, either on their television or on any personal device. The channel will be streamed live and made widely available on all platforms, including linear TV and OTT, with content available across social media as well as News UK’s own broad inventory of websites and apps. 

News UK continues to hire some exceptional new talent to join a schedule of prime time programming for the evenings with further announcements in the coming weeks.