As Buerk signs off, who will take BBC news hot seat?

Michael Buerk announced his retirement from the BBC's News at Ten O'Clock yesterday, prompting speculation on who will become the new figurehead of the flagship programme.

After 14 years as the main presenter of the evening news, the veteran journalist has decided a change is as good as a rest. "By November I will have presented the main evening news more than 4,000 times. It's more than enough," he said.

Yesterday the BBC confirmed that he had announced his intention to retire before the end of his contract in February. He informed the management of his decision on Thursday evening.

Richard Sambrook, director of BBC News, described Buerk as a man who had made "one of the most significant contributions to BBC journalism.

"His talents both as a newsreader and journalist are among the best in the business and I am delighted that he will continue to work with BBC News on current affairs projects and special news reports," he added.

While the corporation refused to speculate publicly on who would replace Buerk, insiders suggested that an internal candidate was the most likely option.

The front-runners are likely to be the main presenters of the Six O'Clock News, Huw Edwards and Fiona Bruce, as well as George Alagiah, anchorman of BBC 4's international evening news programme.

Buerk, 56, will continue to present The Moral Maze on Radio 4 and The Choice, a programme on people dealing with life-changing dilemmas. He also intends to film more one-off news and current affairs specials.

Buerk, who is married with twin sons, also plans to write two books:his memoirs, and a book on life along the river Wye.

The award-winning journalist, who has reported from more than 60 countries since joining BBC News in 1973, is best known for alerting the world to the plight of famine-stricken Ethiopians. His powerful and dispassionate 1984 report, matched with pictures from the late cameraman Mohammed Amin, was typical of a man known to be from the old school of television journalism, and prompted the Live Aid campaign.

Yet his career has been peppered with more humorous moments, most notably recently when he joked about the correspondent Rosie Millard's revealing dress after her report from the Cannes film festival. "That was Rosie Millard in Cannes, winner of best supporting dress," he told viewers.

Buerk had planned to retire from news presenting in 2001, but was persuaded to stay on for one more year.

In that time the main evening news programme switched from its old nine o'clock slot to one hour later, a decision he was said to be privately furious about.

In recent years he has been critical of the current pace of news reporting and noted a growing trend for television coverage to be focused on the "superficial and ephemeral".

In 2000, he told Radio Times that the "pressure to deliver" in such situations made it hard to pursue stories properly.

The likely contenders

HUW EDWARDS

The 40-year-old Welshman has impressed with his solid presenting of the BBC News at 6pm. Despite being called "Humourless Huw", after he took offence to a description of him as "a sheep-fancying leek-muncher", his profile has been enhanced by becoming a target for Alistair McGowan on his Big Impression show.

FIONA BRUCE

The ambitious 38-year-old Crimewatch presenter has been a regular stand-in on network bulletins and recently returned to work after having a baby girl. She said of her experience: "I'm not some mad career monster. I don't want people to think I'm setting a terribly bad example here. The last thing I would advocate is women rushing back to work with a baby."

GEORGE ALAGIAH

The former Africa correspondent has been at the BBC since 1989. Is one of the "news" faces at BBC Four, the new digital channel largely devoted to the arts. The 46-year-old presents the channel's "less reactive and more analytical" 8pm news bulletin, seen by many as a place in the wilderness. He is widely tipped for a return to prime-time.