Fiona Bruce emerges as the front-runner in the BBC's all-female race to replace David Dimbleby as the host of Question Time

  • News At Ten and Antiques Roadshow anchor is said to be leading the shortlist
  • Kirsty Wark and Emily Maitlis are also being considered, according to an insider
  • All-women shortlist for top job comes in the wake of the BBC's equal pay row  

Fiona Bruce (pictured in London on March 8) is thought to be battling Kirsty Wark and Emily Maitlis, who now present Newsnight

Fiona Bruce (pictured in London on March 8) is thought to be battling Kirsty Wark and Emily Maitlis, who now present Newsnight

Fiona Bruce has emerged as the front-runner on the BBC's all-female shortlist to replace David Dimbleby as the host of Question Time, according to reports.

The News At Ten and Antiques Roadshow anchor is believed to be battling Kirsty Wark and Emily Maitlis, who currently present Newsnight.

Dimbleby, 80, will step down on December 13 after 25 years on the topical debate show and BBC bosses are said to want to bring in a change of tone.

An insider told The Sunday Telegraph: 'At the moment Fiona seems to be the favourite as the producers are keen to give the show a softer feel - although there are concerns she may not be political enough and may not want to relinquish the other work she does, such as on the Antiques Roadshow.'

Victoria Derbyshire, Samira Ahmed and Tony Robinson are all said to have been ruled out after private pilot shows filmed in front of a live audience last month.

The BBC told MailOnline the recruitment process was still ongoing and it would not comment on speculation.

The corporation has come under pressure to fill more of its top roles with women in the wake of the gender pay gap scandal.

Maitlis in an undated photo
Wark with Sharleen Spiteri at a Burns Night party in London on Janurary 25

Maitlis is pictured left in an undated photo and Wark on the right with Sharleen Spiteri at a Burns Night party in London on Janurary 25

Former BBC China editor Carrie Gracie revealed earlier this month she was handed a £361,000 payout after a long and bitter equal pay case.

She did not disclose the sum at the time but said figure was almost three times her original salary of £135,000 as China editor.

Miss Gracie donated the money to gender equality charity The Fawcett Society, which has used it to set up a free legal aid service for women to fight workplace discrimination.

The 56-year-old, who has spent more than 30 years at the Corporation, also said she is on unpaid leave but is 'going to go back to the BBC and be a presenter again'.

She added: 'Some people said at the time "they're going to sack you", they didn't sack me so good on the BBC for that.'

Her revelation comes after MPs found the BBC had discriminated against and underpaid scores of women because of an 'invidious and opaque' culture at the top. In a Commons report last month, they said it had 'failed' female workers and plunged the organisation into a 'crisis of trust'.

Dimbleby, 80, will step down on December 13 after 25 years on the topical debate show and BBC bosses are said to want to bring in a change of tone. Photo undated 

Dimbleby, 80, will step down on December 13 after 25 years on the topical debate show and BBC bosses are said to want to bring in a change of tone. Photo undated 

They added that women at the broadcaster live in 'fear' of challenging their employer despite knowing they are paid tens of thousands less than men who sit beside them.

Miss Gracie quit as China editor in January, writing an open letter after discovering that North America editor Jon Sopel was on a salary band of £200,000 to £249,999 for an equal role.

During an appearance on ITV's Good Morning Britain, she claimed that pay discrimination was 'embedded' in workplaces in the UK.

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