S Poddar
Kirsty Wark is a name that has appeared across British journalism since the 1970s. She recently called out her history in the BBC in this interview with Sky News. She previously hosted Newsnight for 31 years until 2024 when she left the program this year. She reflected on a few strong moments of her career while in conversation – from interviewing Prince Andrew to a quintessential encounter with Margaret Thatcher. It also involved experiences of the human element in dealing with team members who did not always play by the rules of the game. Her greatest claim to fame, though, must be sitting down in 2019 with Prince Andrew in one of the most contentious BBC interviews of recent history-a product of then-colleague Emily Maitlis.
“She was meant to be lead presenter for Newsnight, so she did the interview,” Wark said of Reith’s journalistic roots. None of that would matter, though. Because the chunk of the interview during which the extent of Parker-Bowles’ affair with Charles came to light and the secrets surrounding Andrew’s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, did result in one of those catastrophic fallout honeymoons: one that would follow the Duke of York bad name for a long time to come, even when the media storm had died down. Behind closed doors, Wark discloses one astonishing insight: that Prince Andrew himself believed he had made it through the interview. Indeed, even afterwards, when filming ended, he gave Maitlis a tour of Buckingham Palace. Wark was also questioned about two recent dramatizations of the interview, Scoop and A Very British Scandal. She chose A Very British Scandal because it best represented the event better balanced, whereas she felt that Scoop lacked to give “enough people their place.” In Wark’s words, Scoop was overly one-dimensional in the profile to Sam McAlister, the Newsnight guest booker who convinced Andrew to take the interview whereas A Very British Scandal offered “a more collective vision of what happened”.
Wark’s career is marked by high-profile interviews, but there were a few episodes that were particularly tense and dramatic. Of them, perhaps the most was with Margaret Thatcher, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, amidst peak poll tax protests. Wark recalled that she was fully prepared and remained poised through the conversation, besides the fact that she was pregnant at the time of which no one had even known except her husband.
Thatcher, who had a presence that commanded respect, would later recall Wark’s interview as a time in her life when she had been interrupted more often than on any previous occasion. Meanwhile, Wark felt himself becoming more determined, convinced that it was more of a challenge rather than a criticism. Another memorable interview that this time was for rather unpleasant reasons took place with former Conservative MP Michael Portillo. According to Wark, Portillo was getting angry during the interview, asking her to “stop hectoring” him. The latter comment was not at all amusing to her. She confessed later however that the interview might have been too confrontational on her part since it was performed not too long after she lost both her father and godmother to death. Wark added humorously that, despite the tension, she had recommended him a year ago to present Great British Railway Journeys, the show that has now run for nine series.
Wark did also refer to the internal battles she faced on various production teams at the BBC in her time there, where people seemed not always to want to “play the game” of journalism in the more old-fashioned principles of collaboration and sharing. For instance there was her former Newsnight colleague Robert Peston, who is now political editor at ITV. Wark has shares some of the gossip from that time at Newsnight: when he briefly took on a full-time role on the programme, he declined to use an earpiece-a basic part of the show-and instead delivered his interviews alone rather than in discussion with colleagues. “He’s such a team player”, she said drily Throughout the interview, Wark shared a glimpse into her diverse career, from stern political interviews to lighter moments on TV. When asked about dancing on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, Wark told readers she had been approached “many times,” but refused due to work and health pressures, although didn’t rule it out definitely for the future.
While yet to dance her way to the surface, Wark proved her fighting spirit within popular shows other than this one. She has featured in celebrity editions of MasterChef and The Great British Bake Off, which just goes to show how keen she is on cooking. With a legacy of fearless journalism, unflinching interviews, and moments of sharp wit, Wark heads off into the unknown as she steps away from her full-time role at the BBC. Refection on her career shines light on both triumph and on challenges of working in one of the world’s most demanding news environments – and her stories will continue long after she leaves the Beeb’s red doors.
