Boris Johnson to host TV shows on GB News

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Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson is joining GB News as a presenter, programme maker and commentator in a coup for the right-leaning broadcaster after a recent series of scandals and regulatory investigations. 

GB News, which is co-owned by Brexit-backing hedge fund tycoon Paul Marshall, will give the ex-premier a TV platform to air his views in the run-up to the UK general election expected next year.

Since leaving office, Johnson has signed a string of deals, including a contract with HarperCollins to write a memoir and an agreement with US-based speakers’ bureau Harry Walker Agency, for which he was paid an advance worth almost £2.5mn. He also writes a column for the Daily Mail.

Johnson will join a number of fellow Conservative politicians as a presenter on the channel — whose growing roster of rightwing commentators has sparked concerns over impartiality.

GB News is facing multiple probes by the UK media watchdog Ofcom given its use of politicians as presenters. Interviews with Reform party leader Richard Tice and chancellor Jeremy Hunt — conducted by two Conservative MPs — have recently been found to have breached the rules.

The channel has also been under scrutiny since suspending Dan Wootton, one of its most popular hosts, after airing sexist comments made by actor Laurence Fox about a female political journalist in September.  

GB News said that Johnson will join in the new year and play a key role in the channel’s coverage of both the UK and US elections.

Johnson will create and present a new series about Britain around the world, as well as hosting special live audience shows broadcast from around the UK.

Johnson said that GB News was “an insurgent channel with a loyal and growing following”. In a video on social media, he also promised to give “unvarnished views on everything from Russia, China, the war in…