In the absence of Alastair Burnet (who left ITN in 1972 to pursue a career in print journalism), "News at Ten" paired Andrew Gardner and Reginald Bosanquet to create one of the programme's most well liked newscasting duos. In 1978, Anna Ford became the bulletin's first female newscaster, and Alastair Burnet rejoined the programme in the same year. For more than a decade onwards, Burnet was the newscaster most associated with "News at Ten", his "serious persona", "sepulchral tones" and "deferential interviewing style" becoming respected hallmarks of the programme. By the late 1980s, Burnet – now a member of the ITN board of directors and "News at Ten"'s associate editor – began to draw criticism that he was losing the personal touch with his audience, allowing "News at Ten" to settle into a "stodgy" and "old-fashioned" complacency. Nonetheless, the programme continued to maintain a solid high audience during the 1980s and well into the next decade.