Mishal Husain joined Radio 4’s Today in October and brought a surge in listeners, but now 400,000 appear to have deserted the station . She initially prompted a spike in interest….but it appears the Mishal Husain effect is wearing off. The 41-year-old journalist joined Radio 4’s Today team in October last year and brought a surge in listeners with her. But between January and June some 400,000 appear to have deserted the station according to figures released by Rajar which monitors radio listener numbers. The data reveals that when Miss Husain joined the station’s flagship news show the 6am-9am slot – which the programme occupies from Monday to Friday – had a weekly audience of 6.81million. This shot up over the next three months (Oct to Dec) to 7.14million but between January and June it has fallen to 6.7m. Miss Husain, who has three children with her husband Meekal Hashmi, presents the show along with Sarah Montague, Jim Naughtie, Evan Davis, Justin Webb and John Humphrys, who she clashed with five years ago when he asked during a recording of Celebrity Mastermind whether she had got her job as a BBC 1 newsreader ‘because you are good-looking’. On joining Today as the breakfast news programme’s first ethnic minority presenter, she said: ‘I have long been an admirer of Today and am delighted to have the opportunity to join the team.’ BBC director general Tony Hall said: ‘She is a first-rate journalist. She will be an excellent addition to what is a very powerful and strong team. He added: ‘I am particularly pleased that with her appointment there will be another female voice on the programme, which I think is really important.’ Miss Husain also worked on the BBC’s coverage of the 2012 Olympics and, reported for the corporation from Pakistan – the country where her parents were born – on the death of Osama Bin Laden and the assassination of the country’s ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Scroll down for video . Miss Husain presents the show along with Sarah Montague, Jim Naughtie, Evan Davis, Justin Webb and John Humphrys (left) During the same nine month period, other BBC radio breakfast shows enjoyed significant rises, Chris Evans’s show on Radio 2 saw a gain of 562,000 in its weekly listeners, while Nick Grimshaw’s Radio 1 morning programme enjoyed a jump of 388,000. Radio 5 Live’s morning slot also gained 162,000 extra weekly listeners, although Radio 3 saw a decline of 7,000. A BBC spokesperson said: 'Today has a very loyal audience and listening figures traditional hover around 7 million a week, but in this quarter across Radio 4 there has been a small dip in the weekly reach.'
Miss Husain joined the flagship news programme in October .
The move bought a surge in listeners to the popular broadcast .
But figures show 400,000 listeners turned off between January and June .
Mishal Husain joined Radio 4’s Today in October and brought a surge in listeners, but now 400,000 appear to have deserted the station . She initially prompted a spike in interest….but it appears the Mishal Husain effect is wearing off. The 41-year-old journalist joined Radio 4’s Today team in October last year and brought a surge in listeners with her. But between January and June some 400,000 appear to have deserted the station according to figures released by Rajar which monitors radio listener numbers. The data reveals that when Miss Husain joined the station’s flagship news show the 6am-9am slot – which the programme occupies from Monday to Friday – had a weekly audience of 6.81million. This shot up over the next three months (Oct to Dec) to 7.14million but between January and June it has fallen to 6.7m. Miss Husain, who has three children with her husband Meekal Hashmi, presents the show along with Sarah Montague, Jim Naughtie, Evan Davis, Justin Webb and John Humphrys, who she clashed with five years ago when he asked during a recording of Celebrity Mastermind whether she had got her job as a BBC 1 newsreader ‘because you are good-looking’. On joining Today as the breakfast news programme’s first ethnic minority presenter, she said: ‘I have long been an admirer of Today and am delighted to have the opportunity to join the team.’ BBC director general Tony Hall said: ‘She is a first-rate journalist. She will be an excellent addition to what is a very powerful and strong team. He added: ‘I am particularly pleased that with her appointment there will be another female voice on the programme, which I think is really important.’ Miss Husain also worked on the BBC’s coverage of the 2012 Olympics and, reported for the corporation from Pakistan – the country where her parents were born – on the death of Osama Bin Laden and the assassination of the country’s ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Scroll down for video . Miss Husain presents the show along with Sarah Montague, Jim Naughtie, Evan Davis, Justin Webb and John Humphrys (left) During the same nine month period, other BBC radio breakfast shows enjoyed significant rises, Chris Evans’s show on Radio 2 saw a gain of 562,000 in its weekly listeners, while Nick Grimshaw’s Radio 1 morning programme enjoyed a jump of 388,000. Radio 5 Live’s morning slot also gained 162,000 extra weekly listeners, although Radio 3 saw a decline of 7,000. A BBC spokesperson said: 'Today has a very loyal audience and listening figures traditional hover around 7 million a week, but in this quarter across Radio 4 there has been a small dip in the weekly reach.'
and brought a surge in listeners, but now 400,000 listeners with her. But between January and June that when Miss Husain joined the station’s flagship news show the 6am-9am slot – which the