A former weekly newspaper journalist has “emerged as the clear favourite” to replace Arlene Foster in the Northern Ireland Assembly, according to reports.

The Irish News has reported former Fermanagh Herald journalist Deborah Erskine is set to replace the former DUP leader and First Minister as an MLA for Fermanagh South Tyrone.

Deborah, pictured, previously worked in the DUP press office ahead of being elected as a member of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in May 2019.

Mrs Foster is expected to step down before next year’s Assembly election.

Both Deborah, 28, and the DUP have declined to comment on her potential co-option when contacted by the News.

But, according to the Belfast-based daily, she is understood to be “considering the potential impact of a full-time career in politics on her family life”.

In a recent interview with the Impartial Reporter she described herself as “forward-thinking, approachable and a unionist”.