Newsreader Sissons to leave BBC

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BBC newsreader Peter Sissons is to retire after a television career spanning 45 years.

Sissons, 66, is thought to be Britain's longest-serving news presenter and has said he will leave in the summer to write his memoirs.

He told the Daily Mirror: "I do feel I'm still on top of my game and I still enjoy it."

Sissons has read the news on all major terrestrial channels, including ITV's News at One and Channel 4 News.

Varied career

Sissons said: "The longest newscaster before me was Dickie Baker, who did the BBC news for 28 years. Some people think I am still working for ITN, even though I left 20 years ago."

The married father-of-three joined ITN in 1964 after graduating from Oxford University.

After becoming ITN's news editor, he presented ITN's News at One in 1978.

Sissons joined the BBC in 1989 to present Question Time, and was also one of the presenters of the Six O'Clock News.

He then moved to the Nine O'Clock News in 1994 and stayed with the programme until it moved to its new time of 2200.

In 2002, Sissions criticised the BBC for ageism, saying he had been to "too many" leaving parties for colleagues aged over 50.