Jeremy Vine is to join the Panorama team as the programme's main presenter when the show moves to its new Monday night 8.30pm slot in January.

The programme was moved to Sunday nights on BBC One in 2000 to accommodate shifting the nightly news to 10pm. It returned to a weeknight slot earlier this year, with its shows on football "bungs" and the Catholic Church sparking controversy.

There had been fears that the show may be axed, but Panorama's output will now increase from 15.5 hours to 28 hours, made up of 48 x 30-minute episodes and four one-hour specials.

Vine said: "Panorama is one of the BBC's most important brands and the programme is going like a train at the moment,

"With the move to Mondays and exposure to a primetime audience again, Panorama is coming home. It's a huge privilege to be joining."

Vine has also been chosen by BBC News to inherit its "swingometer" slot, made famous by Peter Snow, in its coverage of the next General Election.

He will also continue to present his lunchtime show on BBC Radio 2, which he took over from Radio 2 veteran Jimmy Young.

Last year he was named Speech Broadcaster of the Year at the Sony Radio Academy Awards.