Fiona Bruce offered job to host BBC Question Time, reports say

If appointed the BBC News at Six presenter will start in early 2019

Fiona Bruce earns an estimated £500,000 a year (Getty Images)

Fiona Bruce is set to become the first ever female presenter of BBC Question Time, it has been reported.

The presenter of BBC News at Six is in talks to take over from veteran host David Dimbleby, who will leave the show in December after 24 years.

If given the role, she would become the first female host since the show first aired in 1979.

Bruce auditioned for the role alongside a number of other leading broadcasters, according to the BBC.

The reports, which are unconfirmed, suggest that an announcement will be made in the coming days.

Several other high-profile names have been rumoured to be possible successors for Dimbleby, including Emily Maitlis, Victoria Derbyshire, Nick Robinson, Jeremy Paxman and Huw Edwards.

A BBC spokesperson said: “We are not commenting on speculation.”

Question Time has long been a staple of the weekly political news and has regularly made headlines itself.

Clips of the audience’s questions and answers from panellists have often gone viral but in recent months the show has found itself under scrutiny.

Producers of the show found themselves under the spotlight and were criticised for regularly inviting Ukip’s Nigel Farage to appear on its panel.

The former Ukip leader has appeared on the show 11 times, two behind the most regular panellist, Caroline Flint, the Labour MP, who has featured on the show on 13 different occasions.