London's Nina heads over to ITV

They have been touted as the darlings of ITV news - not to mention the thinking man's pin-ups.

But presenters Katie Derham and Andrea Catherwood have lost out in the battle for one of the nation's top newscasting jobs by a relative unknown.

BBC London presenter Nina Hossain is to take over from ITV evening news star Mary Nightingale when she goes on maternity leave next month. An inside source said: "It's a huge shock. They've brought an outsider in from the BBC, someone who isn't really known outside of her London patch."

Meanwhile the attitude of BBC bosses to Hossain's departure is said to have sparked anger among her newsroom colleagues.

Staff were "outraged" by reports she had been banned from re-entering the Marylebone headquarters.