BBC journalist Edward Stourton has died aged 68 BBC

Journalist Edward Stourton has died aged 68, it has been announced.

BBC Radio 4 The journalist became well known for hosting current affairs programs such as Today, World at One and his Sunday religious and moral stories.

He died on Saturday surrounded by his family after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014, a BBC he said in his voice.

Former friends paid tribute to a man they called a talented broadcaster.

“It’s easy to lose Ed,” said Jonathan Munro, who runs BBC News and Current Affairs. “I worked as his editor when he was ITN’s ambassador editor – never mind.” Years later, I was listening to his excellent analysis of the new pope on the BBC – another part of his expertise.

“Not many broadcasters would show Today, BBC One’s One O’Clock News, The World at One and Sunday, but he did. He’s leaving a huge gap.”

Mohit Bakaya, director of BBC Radio 4, said Stourton was an “excellent broadcaster”. He added: “He brought wisdom, authority and a wonderful world to everything he did.” When Ed was behind the mic, whether it was on Sundays or the various programs he used to broadcast on Radio 4, you felt that you had a good understanding of the world.

Stourton had a distinguished career in broadcasting, working for the BBC and ITN, which produces Channel 4 News. He spent nearly 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 and BBC One’s Panorama.

He joined ITN from university in 1979 and became a founding member of Channel 4 News three years later. Starting as a scriptwriter, he moved on to foreign affairs, and became Washington’s first correspondent in 1986, covering the final years of the Reagan administration.

In 1988 he began working for two years as a BBC correspondent in Paris, which ended when he rejoined ITN as diplomatic editor. He reported from Baghdad during the Gulf War, Bosnia during the siege of Sarajevo and Moscow during the last days of the Soviet Union.

He returned to the BBC in 1993 and presented the One O’Clock News for six years. He also presented assignments during his time with the broadcaster and had his own Radio 4 programme, Call. Ed Stourton. He joined the Today program in 1999 and, after presenting it, later became a full-time presenter.

From 2009 Stourton began presenting The World at One and The World Weekend This.

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

He was born in Nigeria, where his father came from, in 1957, and grew up in the UK. 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 was diagnosed with prostate cancer nearly a decade ago. Amy Rylance, head of health, justice and change at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “We are grateful to him for speaking openly about his disease in his memory, and in doing so raising awareness of the life-saving treatment for men and women across the country.

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