Mark Devenport, the face of BBC NI’s politics coverage, leaving journalism

One of Northern Ireland’s best known political journalists is to leave journalism for a new career, the News Letter can reveal.
Mark Devenport has been BBC NI's political editor since 2001Mark Devenport has been BBC NI's political editor since 2001
Mark Devenport has been BBC NI's political editor since 2001

Mark Devenport, who for 18 years has been BBC Northern Ireland’s political editor, has decided to change career after being worn out by almost three years of coverage of Brexit.

A senior BBC source said that the respected journalist had told colleagues that the protracted Brexit soap opera had led him to decide that it was time to enter the world of drama full-time as an actor.

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The English-born reporter – who once shared a Belfast house with the actors Ian McElhinney, Marie Jones and Eleanor Methven before becoming the face of BBC Northern Ireland’s political coverage – is planning to enrol in drama school.

Mr Devenport is not the first Belfast-based BBC political journalist to leave for a very different career. Five years ago his then colleague Martina Purdy stunned the media and political worlds by quitting journalism to become a nun.

Unlike Ms Purdy, Mr Devenport – who has been with the BBC since the 1980s – may not have entirely given up on covering politics.

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Two years ago, during a interview with the BBC Academy, the corporation’s training wing, he said: “I can see myself maybe continuing to blog even after the BBC has decided to pension me off.”

However, it is understood that his contract contains an unusually long notice period and he will not be able to leave his post until 1 April 2020.