Beijing: A prominent Chinese state television news anchor known for his high-profile interviews with world leaders has been detained by authorities, state media has reported, becoming perhaps the best-known celebrity to be ensnared in President Xi Jinping's broadening anti-corruption drive.

The news anchor, Rui Chenggang, a presenter on national broadcaster China Central Television, has more than 10 million followers on China's Twitter equivalent, Weibo.

Rising star: Rui Chenggang, seen here moderating a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2011, has been detained. Credit:AP

He was entrusted with an extended one-on-one interview with Tony Abbott when the Prime Minister visited China in April, and has also been described as an "old friend" by former prime minister Kevin Rudd. The pair regularly trade friendly messages on Weibo, with Mr Rudd crediting the news presenter for introducing him to the social media site where he often chats with his more than half a million followers in Chinese.

The People's Daily, the Communist Party's flagship newspaper, reported on Saturday that the anchor was taken away by officials on Friday, along with Li Yong, the vice-director of financial news for the network, confirming an earlier report by financial magazine Caixin.