Jane Garvey delivers emotional goodbye on final Woman’s Hour episode

Emma Barnett is joining the series in the new year

Jane Garvey is stepping down from Woman’s Hour after 13 years (BBC / Guy Levy)

Jane Garvey bade goodbye to Woman’s Hour listeners as her time on the BBC Radio 4 series came to an end after 13 years.

The presenter departs the series three months after her co-host, Dame Jenni Murray, also left the series she had hosted for over three decades.

Newsnight’s Emma Barnett is set to join the series in 2021.

Speaking on her final instalment of Woman’s Hour, Garvey said: “Genuinely, this has been one of the toughest decisions of my life.”

“The reason I'm going is because I could have stayed, and I sometimes think, the hardest thing is to change when it's actually the last thing you want to do, but it's probably the best thing to do.”

She added: “Woman's Hour is not just a radio programme, it's one of the radio programmes, and I've had the chance to do it, and it's just been an amazing privilege. But the programme needs to move on, and now it can, and that's good.”

Starting next Spring, Garvey will host a new interview programme on BBC Radio 4, with further details forthcoming.