Kirsty gets Fiona's Crimewatch beat

The former Five newsreader will present her first edition of the flagship programme in January, marking her promotion to the major league of BBC stars.

Her move comes as part of a controversial revamp of the show, which included dumping Nick Ross as the main presenter after 23 years - amid claims he had been the victim of ageism.

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The departure of 43-year-old co-host Fiona Bruce after seven years was also announced. She will now present the Antiques Roadshow from the spring.

Miss Young had been tipped for bigger things ever since joining the BBC last year, becoming only the fourth presenter of Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in 65 years.

The 38-year-old Scottish mother of two has some previous experience of presenting crime programmes, having hosted ITV's ill-fated competitor to Crimewatch, Rat Trap, in 2001.

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She said yesterday: "I'm delighted to be joining a programme with such a respected history. Sadly crime is a fact of life and affects us all.

"Being the presenter of a show which does so much to get justice for people affected by it will be a real privilege."

Miss Young, who will become the fifth Crimewatch presenter, was first linked to the programme in 1999, when it was suggested she may take over from Jill Dando after her murder.

At the time, she was still a Channel 5 newsreader.

BBC commissioning editor Ben Gale said: "Kirsty's journalistic background means she is highly experienced in dealing with live presenting, and the kind of difficult and emotive stories that feature in the programme.

"She has the combination of gravitas and warmth that Crimewatch viewers expect and we hope she will oversee many successful appeals."

Miss Young who is married to entrepreneur Nick Jones - owner of celebrity hang-out Soho House --began her career as a continuity announcer at BBC Scotland.

In 1996 she was hired by the new Channel 5 as its main newsreader, and stayed there for four years until she left for ITV, where she presented such programmes as The People Versus . .. and read news bulletins.

She won plaudits for her professionalism during ITV's rolling coverage of the events of September 11, including an interview with her husband, who was in New York as the disaster unfolded.

But she angered ITN bosses by returning to Five, where she stayed until taking the Radio 4 job last year.

With the promotion to the flagship Crimewatch programme, her place as one of the faces of the corporation has been secured.

But 60-year-old Ross, who has presented the show since it first started in 1984, had suggested that his age --and his familiarity - were reasons why he was dumped.

He said: "I know of a senior producer who said, 'You can change the set, the music and the titles, but fundamentally you are never going to make the show completely different unless you change Nick Ross'.

"There is a real sense that BBC1 is not attracting as many young viewers as it would like to, but I think that concern is misplaced if they think presenters have anything much to do with it."

Crimewatch has helped solve some of the most high profile cases, including the murder of Jamie Bulger, the kidnapping of estate agent Stephanie Slater, and the murders of Lin and Megan Russell.

Overall 20 per cent of the 2,900 crimes ever featured on the programme have been solved.