Laura Kuenssberg favourite to replace long-time Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman #CarryGobySeanKellz #FutureGroupNG via @myentertain9jar

BOOKIES are tipping Laura Kuenssberg to replace Jeremy Paxman as the regular host of Newsnight after the revered journalist quit the show following 25 years in the job.

Journalist Laura Kuenssberg is the favourite to replace Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight[LEFT - PA & RIGHT - GETTY]

The award-winning journalist is the favourite to replace Paxman ahead of fellow Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis and BBC News political editor Nick Robinson.

Punters are also being offered 25-1 odds on Paxman taking his grumpy persona on to reality TV shows such as Celebrity Big Brother, Strictly Come Dancing or I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.

However, a better bet seems to be the 63-year-old taking on Piers Morgan's former talk show role with American broadcaster CNN, with Coral pricing such a move at a shorter 16-1.

Jeremy Paxman has quit Newsnight after 25 years on the BBC Two show [PA]

Jeremy Paxman said he has no idea what he's going to do next, but punters are already guessing

Coral's Nicola McGeady

Kuenssberg, 37, joined the Newsnight team this February for her second stint with the BBC, having previously defected to ITV News as Business Editor.

She has also worked for Channel 4 News and was Chief Political Correspondent for BBC News during the creation of David Cameron's Coalition Government.

Coral's Nicola McGeady said: "Jeremy Paxman said he has no idea what he's going to do next, but punters are already guessing, backing him to take part in a reality TV show."

Paxman last night announced he was quitting the current affairs show he first joined in 1989.

The broadcaster, who is one of the BBC's most familiar faces, said he had made the decision last summer but agreed to stay to help the show through a "difficult period."

That came after Newsnight decided not to run an investigation exposing the Jimmy Savile sex scandal.

Punters are also being offered 25-1 odds on Paxman taking his grumpy persona on to reality TV shows [PA]

The broadcaster also revealed he is now keen to "go to bed at much the same time as most [other] people."

In a statement, Paxman said: "It's been fun. I have had the pleasure of working with lots of clever, creative and amusing people.

"I think I've been lucky and wish the programme well."

BBC Director-General Tony Hall paid tribute to Paxman as "a rare and dazzling talent".
WATCH

Mr Hall said: "This is a particularly poignant moment for me, because I have known Jeremy and relished working with him, since the day I joined the BBC in 1973. And I am therefore better placed than most to know what a remarkable job he has done at Newsnight.

"His is a rare and dazzling talent. He has a unique ability to create moments of real discomfort for politicans and memorable delight for audiences. For that cussed brilliance and much more besides, the BBC and our audiences will always be in his debt.”

James Harding, BBC Head of News, said Paxman had become the "great lion of BBC journalism" who "never failed to ask the difficult questions."

WATCH

Paxman will present his last edition of Newsnight in June and will continue to present University Challenge.

After the news broke of Paxman's decision to quit, fellow journalists flocked to Twitter to pay tribute to him.

Harvard Business Review contributor Umair Haque tweeted: "I think Jeremy Paxman was the last truly great journalist in a position of power. It's sad to see him go."

Daily Mirror associate editor Kevin Maguire posted: "Jeremy Paxman quitting Newsnight is like the ravens flying the Tower of London or the Barbary apes leaving Gibraltar".

Political editor ITV News Tom Bradby tweeted: "Paxo quits. The end of Newsnight?"

Left-wing commentator Owen Jones added: "No-one does that 'oh just get out of my studio' look like Jeremy Paxman #newsnight".

Comedian Russell Brand also posted: "Paxman come back! This is not the revolution we intended. #Newsnight".

The comic was referring to his own recent Newsnight interview with Paxman where he predicted an upcoming anti-capitalist revolution, prompting withering looks from the BBC journalist.WATCH