How does it feel receiving our Fellowship?
I feel very honoured, to be honest. I think BAFTA is such a terrific organisation for culture in our country generally. And I genuinely didn’t expect it. It was a confidential email at first, and then it was: “We need to have a chat about this.” Then it just sinks in that actually, something special is going to happen. BAFTA supports so many people behind the screen, on screen – they’re an advocate. I don’t think you get anyone fiercer in that regard than [BAFTA’s CEO] Jane Millichip. So I’m very, very happy to be part of the family.
When you think back, what was a real turning point of opportunity that moved things forward for you?
Way back in the early 80s, I’d gone to London to work on The World at One on BBC Radio 4 on attachment, and they’d asked me to stay on. Then the chance to do a training course for film directing and studio directing came up. So that was the point where I was able to move to TV and learn my trade as a very short-lived studio director, shooting on reversal film – which means the first cut is the only cut and the deepest – making current affairs programmes. Then I [realised] I just loved the whole process of TV. That was where I wanted to be.
But it was never my intention to be on the TV. It was in for a penny, in for a pound. It was just, like: “We would like you to present this. And could you just produce it as well?” And then after a year I had to make a decision about what I wanted to do. And I said: “Okay, I’m enjoying presenting. It gives me quite a lot of agency. And I love being out filming.” So I said yes, I would stay, and I would be a presenter in TV.
You’ve made shows on many different topics, but one signature is that balance of politics and culture – maybe, in fact, recognising how one is also the other.
I made one of the first Aids documentaries that was aired [in the UK], I’ve made docs about misogyny, I’ve made docs about menopause – in my career, those kinds of projects have been really important to me. But I’ve also done shows that have been about culture all my life. You can mix the two. I was very keen not to be pigeonholed as somebody who did news and politics, when culture, style and music are very, very important to me. I did a course in modern art at university, so I’ve always loved that cultural aspect to the BBC. One of the biggest joys, and where I learned a lot of my craft, was presenting The Late Show, which was an hour-long art show after Newsnight, every night. Can you imagine such a thing on the BBC? I’ve never held that the people that watch Newsnight don’t watch documentaries about Edvard Munch. We’re all pretty rounded people, I hope.
What is the value to you of interview formats that really give the space and time to those featured?
It’s crucial. Because what you’re saying to the audience at the end of the day is: “Come to us and we’ll try and make sense of what’s going on, with some very, very clever people.” So, you’re doing interviews and you’re learning at the same time; you’re drawing on a huge wealth of knowledge from our guests. Newsnight for me was a kind of perfect place, because it gave you the chance to do those longer-form interviews. One of the most enjoyable parts of the job was doing the prep for the interview, which was often about gaming the interview: thinking about what angles might be taken, how to respond. And we did a lot of work. We took these assignments incredibly seriously.
There’s obviously the way to consume news which tells you the facts very fast. But actually, why the facts are the facts is what you want to know. And are these facts true? I think Newsnight interrogates things very, very carefully. And it is a programme of record. People came to the show to try and make sense of the day. You need analysis, and one person’s analysis is different from another’s. It’s up to us to let the audience make up its mind. You’re doing your best to get to the facts of the story, the difficult parts of the story, the parts of the story you can’t do in a 30-second news bite.
Can you share an interviewing tip, in terms of the skills you have sharpened over the years?
It’s about homework. And it’s about treating the viewer with respect. There is nothing worse than an ill-prepared interviewer. It’s so arrogant.
The interview is like being in a courtroom, in a way. You are wanting to have a lot of light. You might want a little heat – you know, a little bit of paprika. But essentially, it’s not about you, it’s not about me, and we should all remember that. We’ve all got egos, but at the end of the day we’re there to try and find out something that helps the audience at home.
As your career progressed, did you find you had more confidence to pursue things you wanted to more actively advocate for?
I would say [I gained] more confidence to push things, because I had a degree of authority. But the first menopause programme took a long time to commission. The BBC was not for it for a long time, until I said that I was prepared to tell my own story. Now, of course, menopause is everywhere, but then it was tough to get a commission. Not long after it was broadcast, I was in a taxi, and the driver said to me: “You saved my marriage.” And I’m going: “What are you talking about?” “My wife didn’t see the menopause programme, I saw it. We were really struggling, and my wife had no idea what it was.” It turned out she was in early menopause. She went to the doctor and got HRT, she was treated, and they made it through. So, you know, one story like that is worth it.
