Ten months after the death of its restaurant critic, AA Gill, the Sunday Times has today announced that Gill's replacement will be none other than Marina O'Loughlin.
That's bound to be an extremely popular choice. O'Loughlin's been at the Guardian for five years following her time as the Metro's restaurant critic and is one of the vanishing numbers of critics that keep their identity secret (no that's not really her above).
Reaction online has already been very positive...
Welcome my darling. Let us make sweet music together. Xxx https://t.co/lPlHsBK1t1
— Giles Coren (@gilescoren) September 19, 2017
Huge Congrats to my (former) colleague@MarinaOLoughlin on taking the ST restaurant critic gig. A fab and serious writer for a serious job.
— Jay Rayner (@jayrayner1) September 19, 2017
If we're being honest, the only person worthy of the role. Amazing, brilliant news. Roll on the 15th! https://t.co/azii5n6OYZ
— George Reynolds (@go_scriptor) September 19, 2017
Thank God they have got a proper critic at last... https://t.co/HonXdEe3Po
— Bruce Palling (@Bruce_Palling) September 19, 2017
The BEST news https://t.co/rH7oHBqoVV
— Lisa Markwell (@lisamarkwell) September 19, 2017
well, it's out nowhttps://t.co/ebA4f9BWse
— Bob Granleese (@bobgranleese) September 19, 2017
And Marina O'Loughlin herself said "I’m hugely excited about joining The Sunday Times – it’s where I first started reading about restaurants I could then only dream of visiting. And I’m absolutely awestruck at the idea of following in AA Gill’s footsteps, even though my shoes are more likely to be Topshop than hand-made."
Yes, you will have to get a subscription to the Sunday Times or pick up a copy to read her reviews from now on - but we're pretty sure they'll be worth it. And it's definitely a big step up from Ed Balls.
Her first review will be on 15 October. Follow Marina O'Loughlin on Twitter @MarinaOLoughlin.
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