Anushka Asthana: Channel 4 News US Editor, Former ITV Deputy Political Editor and Career

Anushka Asthana is the journalist who has held, in succession, almost every senior political job in British news — and then crossed the Atlantic to take the newest one. She was joint political editor of The Guardian, launch presenter of its daily podcast Today in Focus, deputy political editor of ITV News and co-presenter of Peston, and since August 2025 she has been US editor of Channel 4 News, based in Washington DC. In June 2025 she published Taken as Red, the inside story of Starmer’s Labour, drawing on the access those jobs gave her.

That breadth is what most competitor pages miss. They describe her by her latest job alone, when the point of her career is the passage through print, podcasting and television — and the way each move gave her the access and the audience for the next.

Quick Bio

Scunthorpe, Cambridge and the Washington Post fellowship

Asthana was born in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, and raised in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. Her parents, both doctors, had moved to the United Kingdom from New Delhi, India, in the 1970s. She attended Manchester High School for Girls and studied economics at St John’s College, Cambridge.

She joined The Observer as a general reporter in 2003, and spent several months at The Washington Post in 2006 on the Laurence Stern fellowship — an early American posting that now reads as a rehearsal for the Washington job she holds two decades later. She later became a political correspondent for The Times, then joined Sky News in 2013 as a political correspondent.

The Guardian: joint political editor and podcast pioneer

In December 2015 Asthana was appointed joint political editor of The Guardian, in a job share with Heather Stewart that began in early 2016, succeeding Patrick Wintour. The appointment was presented at the time as breaking the mould — two political editors sharing one of the most demanding jobs in British journalism.

From September 2018 she co-presented ITV’s Wednesday-night flagship politics discussion programme Peston, having covered maternity leave as co-presenter of Peston on Sunday from April 2017. She decided to leave her Guardian political editor role in 2018 to present its new daily podcast, Today in Focus — a 20-minute daily dive into the biggest stories in the world, from the #MeToo movement to the Middle East — and was later promoted to editor-at-large. As launch presenter of a daily news podcast, she was early to a format that has since become central to how political news is consumed.

She left The Guardian in 2021 to join ITN as ITV News deputy political editor to Robert Peston, a role she held for four years. She co-hosted ITV’s overnight coverage of the US presidential elections in 2020 and 2024, presented BBC Radio 4’s Week in Westminster, and was at one point linked with the vacant BBC political editor job, though she remained with ITV.

Channel 4 News, Washington and Taken as Red

In April 2025 Channel 4 News announced that Asthana would join its team in August, becoming US editor, succeeding Siobhan Kennedy, who had been US correspondent for six years and returned to the London team. As US editor she delivers coverage from Washington DC and leads the brand’s US political programming across all platforms, at what Channel 4 News editor Esme Wren called a vital moment for American and international politics.

In June 2025 she published her first book, Taken as Red: The Truth About Starmer’s Labour, described as the inside story of Starmer’s Labour and a behind-the-scenes look at the 2024 general election campaign. The book drew on years of access to the Labour leadership from her Guardian and ITV years — reporting that had also produced an agenda-setting exposé on the government’s welfare proposals.

She also co-hosts the Channel 4 News weekly TrumpWorld video podcast with Matt Frei, examining the Trump presidency from Washington, and in October 2025 she joined the Channel 4 News presenter line-up with expanded presenting duties alongside her US editor role, returning to the UK to cover the desk when needed. She joined the board of the Society of Editors in 2025.

What competitors get wrong or leave out

Most competing pages about Asthana share three weaknesses. First, they describe her as ITV’s deputy political editor in the present tense, when she left ITV in 2025 for Channel 4 News.

Second, they list her Guardian years as a single job, when they contained two distinct innovations: the job-share political editorship with Heather Stewart, and the launch of Today in Focus, the daily podcast format she pioneered for the paper.

Third, they miss the thread that connects the book to the career: Taken as Red is not a sideline but the product of the access built across The Guardian and ITV, published in the same year she moved to Washington. Asthana’s story is not a series of jobs; it is a reporter whose access kept compounding until it became a book and a Washington posting in the same summer.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Anushka Asthana? A British journalist who is US editor of Channel 4 News, based in Washington DC, since August 2025.

What did she do before Channel 4 News? She was ITV News deputy political editor and Peston co-presenter (2021–2025), and before that joint political editor of The Guardian and launch presenter of its Today in Focus podcast.

What is Taken as Red? Her first book, published in June 2025, described as the inside story of Starmer’s Labour and a behind-the-scenes look at the 2024 general election campaign.

Where did she study? Economics at St John’s College, Cambridge, after Manchester High School for Girls.

Does she present anything besides US reporting? Yes — she co-hosts the Channel 4 News TrumpWorld podcast with Matt Frei and joined the Channel 4 News presenter team in October 2025.

Did she work in America before? Yes — she spent several months at The Washington Post in 2006 on the Laurence Stern fellowship.

More on Presslix

• Jo Coburn: Former BBC Politics Live Presenter, Times Radio Presenter and Career
• Presslix Journalists & Media

Sources and Further Reading

• Wikipedia: Anushka Asthana — Scunthorpe birth, Stalybridge upbringing, Cambridge economics, Observer 2003, Washington Post fellowship 2006, Guardian joint political editor 2016, Today in Focus, ITV deputy political editor 2021, Channel 4 News US editor from August 2025, Taken as Red June 2025
• Channel 4 News announcement (April 2025): US editor appointment, succeeding Siobhan Kennedy, Washington DC base, Esme Wren statement
• Channel 4 News TrumpWorld announcement: US editor based in Washington DC, former ITV deputy political editor, Guardian political editor, Sky News senior political correspondent, Taken as Red, Laurence Stern Fellowship
• Memorable TV (October 2025): expanded Channel 4 News presenting duties alongside US editor role, TrumpWorld co-host, ITV Peston years, US election overnight coverage 2020 and 2024

Note: career details are from the sources listed. Salary, net worth, height and partner/family details beyond what the cited sources confirm are intentionally not claimed, and no unsourced personal figure is published.