LAST WORD
JEREMY VINE
Mon-Fri 9.15am C5The presenter celebrates a year since replacing Matthew
Wright as host of C5’s daily current affairs show. He tells us
whether that’s been harder than competing on Strictly, and
what annoys him about watching TV with his teenage kids...
Words by: Jennifer Rodger70 70 SATURDAY MAGAZINESATURDAY MAGAZINEIN TOMORROW’S
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Up close with Good Morning Britain presenter
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Jeremy Vine
Describe the room where
you watch television...
We have it downstairs in the
basement, which is like a big den
with table tennis, a sofa and
bookshelves. If the action drifts I
look at books that I should read.
How big is your TV?
I’ve just got a huge new one. I
thought it would take 10 people
to bring it into my house, but one
person held it between his thumb
and forefinger – these days they
are just a pane of glass!
Do you argue over who
has the remote?
We argue over subtitles. My kids,
who are 12 and 15, use them in
case their phones ring. I find it
inconvenient and distracting,
for example when they say
“(laughter)” – although maybe we
should have that on our show...
Is there anything you and
your wife Rachel can’t
watch together?
Yeah, absolutely. She won’t
watch Black Mirror because she
finds it too dystopian. And
Rachel is really into period
dramas but as soon as there’s a
cobbled street I start to worry.
What was the last show
that made you cry?
The Looming Tower, about the
run up to 9/11. I didn’t know the
history of how a CIA agent was
constantly warning his bosses
about Al-Qaeda and was
eventually fired. I was genuinely
shocked by how it ended. It’s
a brilliant drama.
Is there anything that
makes you change channel?
There are certain actors I can’t
stand because they can’t act,
but I’m not going to say names
because of the chances of them
being guests on my show one
day. And I did get a bit of news
fatigue the other day and
thought, “I can’t do any
more Brexit today”.
Interviewing
politicians
or dancing
on Strictly- which is
harder?
It was Strictly in
2015 – until we
had the Irish
backstop. Now I can’t
do an interview unless I
understand that, so suddenly
politics is harder!
What has been your career
highlight so far?
It was probably my first day on
Radio 2 in 2003 and my first
day at C5 in 2018. The first
show is always a massive
moment. I’m really enjoying
coming in every day and
meeting great young producers
at the start of their careers with
loads of energy and ideas, and
thinking, “Yeah, that was me”.
Who is funnier –
you or your comedian
brother Tim Vine?
Every day of every week of every
year, he is. There has not been a
single instance in my whole life
when I’ve been funnier than my
brother, I can promise you.
You took a pay cut to be
more in line with female
presenters. Were you
surprised more male
presenters didn’t join you?
I didn’t tot the numbers up. But I
think the vast majority of male
colleagues were appalled by pay
disparity between male andfemale presenters. I’m pleased it
has gone some distance to being
sorted out, but it’s not there yet.
You are celebrating a year
with your new show. How
did you mark the occasion?
I had a very small pizza with the
boss and we thought it had been
a good year and we toasted it
with Diet Coke. The thing is,
there’s a programme the next
day, so you can’t spend too
much time looking back.‘My wife loves
period dramas
but if I see acobbled street
I start toworry!’