News at Ten star blasts TV 'pretty faces'

News at Ten presenter Mark Austin has joined the debate over whether newsreaders should have experienced journalistic backgrounds or be nothing more than "autocue lovelies".

In an interview published tomorrow the Real Crime presenter says some other newsreaders are just "pretty young women and handsome young men without a solid journalistic background who will get found out". The Emmy award-winning journalist, who launched his attack on modern newsreaders during an interview with the Radio Times, declined to mention names but said it was particularly common on the 24-hour news channels.

Austin, a former foreign and sports correspondent, who was named sexiest male newsreader of all time in a recent poll, added: "I think the viewer wants to believe you know something about what you're saying. You don't need to have been to a war zone to read the news, but it does help.

"But you could make a very good foreign correspondent and not be a good newsreader at all, or vice versa. The main requirement for a newsreader is to stay calm under pressure."

The 49-year-old journalist said he sometimes missed being a reporter.

He added: "Whenever I read the news and a big story breaks, my first instinct is always that I want to be out there. Surely that's why you want to become a journalist, to be in the thick of things?"

Austin is the latest newsreader to join the heated debate - with other heavyweight journalists, including former BBC political editor Andrew Marr and Radio 4's John Humphrys already making their views known - saying newsreaders were "paid too much for reading an autocue", and that newsreading "required no brain". But the multi award-winning presenter was not shy to admit that the accolade he was most proud of receiving was being named sexiest male newsreader of all time in a poll by The Sun.

"Nobody takes any notice of the other awards. Since that one was announced, my mobile's melted."