BBC News star shocks fans as she QUITS broadcaster – and flooded with support from fans
A BBC News star has shocked fans after abruptly QUITTING the broadcaster for a brand new job.
Karishma Patel has worked for the BBC for the past four and a half years but has finally said goodbye to the corporation in favour of pastures new.
The star revealed the news in a social media post and was inundated with well-wishes from her friends and colleagues.
Sharing a screenshot of herself broadcasting live on BBC Radio 5 Live, Karishma said: “Goodbye to @BBCNews after 4 and a half years of newsreading, reporting, and producing.”
Having kept her message short and sweet, she then revealed her brand new role, saying: “I’m off to a non-profit called the Britain Palestine Media Centre, where I’ll be their Senior Social Media Engagement Officer – taking care of all things social media journalism related!”
It marks a slight change of direction for the star who will be leaving the broadcasting world behind to go fully digital.
Over the past few months, Karishma has been specifically working as a Middle East specialist for Radio 5 Live and insisted that she was still “keen to continue” working and raising awareness with issues relating to Gaza.
Sending her a supportive message, one of the star’s followers said: “Incredible news! Mabrook and congratulations!!! BPMC are lucky to have you, we all are.”
Another added: “Congrats! Looking forward to following your work there.”
Before fellow BBC journalist and newsreader Jo Hornby added: “Good luck lovely, we miss you!”
As well as her efforts with the BBC, Karishma also tried her hand at becoming a beauty pageant queen when she entered the Miss England competition.
In her introduction VT to the contest, Karishma said of herself: “I work in broadcast journalism which allows me to expose injustice where I see it and I do have a very strong humanitarian ethos.”
Further describing her hobbies, the then-budding model added: “For the past two summers I’ve worked with a school in India providing a free education to under privileged children in order to break the cycle of poverty and provide them with more opportunities.
“I love to sing opera, Italian arias are my favourite.
“I play the piano and I like to compose for it and I do a lot of portrait photography because I love the emotion it brings out in people’s faces.”
BBC departures and returns
LEAVING/LEFT
Newsnight’s Mark Urban after 35 years on air
Claudia Winkleman quitting BBC Radio 2 after 15 years
Correspondent Robin Brant after two decades
Sports presenter Garry Richardson after 50 years
BBC Radio star Jason Rosam after 16 years on air
Jordan North quitting Radio 1 and moving to Capital
RETURNING/RETURNED
Martine Croxall after launching legal action against the Beeb
Karin Giannone after a horror injury and year off air
Annita McVeigh after losing out on a chief presenter job last year
Geeta Guru-Murthy after also being off air for more than a year