Romesh Ranganathan to host new-format Newsjack
Romesh Ranganathan has been named as the new host of Newsjack, Radio 4 Extra's topical comedy series.
Running since 2009, Newsjack returns for its 10th series next week, with new producers Arnab Chanda and Charlie Perkins at the helm.
Stand-up comedian Romesh Ranganathan (Stand Up For The Week, Seann Walsh World) will take over as the show's host from Justin Edwards, and he'll be stamping his sardonic and unique point of view on the new series.
The show, which has an open door policy whereby the producers accept sketch and one-liner submissions from anyone who wants to try their hand at writing radio comedy, will also receive an overhaul to its topical sketch format.
The producers say: "Romesh will be writing for himself in conjunction with some of the non-commissioned writers, and like previous series he'll also be presenting a scrap-book of sketches covering the week's stories.
"We're also changing the tone and format of the show - opening up new subjects that sketches can cover, and creating brand-new sections to submit one-liners to."
Newsjack Series 10 will also see new cast members added to the acting team: Morgana Robinson (House Of Fools), Radio 1's Alice Levine and comedian Ellie White will take part in Episode 1, with the producers saying the cast will vary each week.
The newcomers will be joined by long-term Newsjack actors Lewis MacLeod, Margaret Cabourn-Smith and Pippa Evans.
Romesh Ranganathan, a former maths teacher, made his stand-up debut in 2010, getting to the final of noted stand-up contest So You Think You're Funny? at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that August.
He received his career break when he won the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year 2013 award. He was also a Best Newcomer nominee at the 2013 Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards, and joined powerful talent agency Off The Kerb in December.
Former Newsjack host Justin Edwards is currently recording a brand new Radio 4 series, Chat Show Roulette, which is expected to broadcast soon.
The first episode of Newsjack Series 10 will be recorded on Wednesday 5th March 2014 at the BBC Radio Theatre in central London, for broadcast on the radio the next day.
The deadline for submitting sketch material for Episode 1 is noon on Monday 3rd March, and 4pm on Tuesday 4th for one-liners.
Full details of how to submit material for the six-week run has beenpublished on the BBC's Newsjack website
Writers are encouraged to follow Newsjack on Twitter for up-to-the-minute material requests.
In the below video the role of Script Editor on the show is discussed. Further behind-the-scenes videos can be found in our guide to the show.