Black eye for
Humphrys over
punchline about
hitting women
By Hannah Furness
arts correspondent
JOHN HUMPHRYS, presenter of the
Today radio programme, was yesterday
accused by Jane Garvey, his BBC col-
league, of making light of domestic
violence after he joked on-air about a
tango dancer punching his wife.
Humphrys was continuing an inter-
view with David Davis, the former
Brexit secretary, following a break for
the news headlines which included a
story about the alleged attack. He said
to Mr Davis: “I promise not to punch
you if you don’t punch me.”
The segment, broadcast on Radio 4
yesterday morning was immediately
criticised by Garvey, who said she had
“no words” for it. Responding to
numerous listener complaints on
social media, Garvey, who presents
Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, said: “I did
hear this – no words. To be fair, news
bulletins are not written by pro-
gramme teams.”
Chris Bryant MP said it was “time to
go” for Humphrys, while broadcaster
Kay Burley said: “Domestic violence is
not a laughing matter.” Sandra Horley,
of the charity Refuge, said: “Domestic
abuse is never a joke, is never accepta-
ble, and should never be normalised.”
The BBC declined to comment on
the latest of several controversies
about Today and Humphrys, who is
leaving the programme later this year.
The news story related to the world
tango championships in Argentina,
where Russian dancer Kirill Parshakov
was disqualified after he was allegedly
seen punching his partner, Anna Gud-
yno, with whom he has two children.
Parshakov had said on Facebook
that they were removed from the
contest after a dispute fuelled by
“overflowing adrenalin”. He said: “I
couldn’t cope with my emotions, and
people saw me more or less aggres-
sive and interpreted these emotions
incorrectly.”
Humphrys was heard chuckling as
the news item finished and, refer-
ring to his imminent departure
from the programme, Mr Davis
said: “I guess this is our last
tango.”
Humphrys replied: “It is in-
deed but I promise not to punch
you if you don’t punch me.”
As the interview
ended, the politi-
cian said: “Our last
tango was very
pleasant and nei-
ther of us
punched each
other.”
Sarah Hilary,
a writer,
said: “Woman’s
Hour often
covers stories
on domestic
violence. This
is like Mum
preaching
decency
Laurie to play Tory in
BBC political thriller
By Jack Hardy
THE BBC has cast Hugh Lau-
rie in a new political drama
about a Conservative minis-
ter who “seeks to further his
own agenda” as “personal
revelations spiral”.
Roadkill will be a four-
part thriller exploring the
conflict between political
power and morality, with
Laurie, an Old Etonian, play-
ing the charismatic Tory MP
Peter Laurence.
His character was de-
scribed as a man whose
“public and private life
seems to be falling apart” as
political opponents plot to
bring him down by exploit-
ing his past demons.
The plot is likely to ignite
speculation that it is based
on Boris Johnson, whose
personal life dominated
much of the recent Conserv-
ative leadership campaign
while his detractors accused
him of ruthless ambition.
Despite the apparent par-
allels with modern British
politics, the show’s writer,
Sir David Hare, insisted that
it was a “fictional” piece.
Roadkill will be directed
by Michael Keillor, who
worked on the hit police cor-
ruption series Line of Duty.
Sir David, the writer of
Oscar-winning films The
Hours and The Reader, said:
“I first worked with Hugh
Laurie in 1987. I can’t wait to
see him embody the fictional
future of the Conservative
party in Roadkill.”
Laurie made a rare public
appearance to accept the
Outstanding Achievement
Award at the Edinburgh Tel-
evision Festival yesterday.Fry loses 5st eating up
the miles – not the food
By Jessica Carpani
STEPHEN FRY has revealed
he lost more than 5st in four
months, citing walking and
listening to podcasts as the
secret to his weight loss.
The former QI host said he
felt “relieved” to have shed
the weight, and eating a sen-
sible diet also played its part.
“I’ve lost a bit of weight so
I’m feeling proud of myself,”
he told BBC Breakfast.
“I was overweight, I have
lost 5½st. I was 21st nearly, in
April, I was that heavy.”
Revealing his secret, he
told presenters Naga Mun-
chetty and Charlie Stayt: “I
walk a lot, and that helps my
mood as well I find. It’s not a
guaranteed help for mental
stress and anxiety, or any-
thing else, but it does help
me and it means I can listen
to audio books as I walk, and
podcasts, and you eat up the
miles that way, and talking
of eating up, eating sensibly.”
Fry, 61, was on the show to
discuss his Greek mythology
book series and forthcoming
Mythos: A Trilog y stage tour.ectly.
mphrys was heard chuckling as
ws item finished and, refer-
o his imminent departure
he programme, Mr Davis
I guess this is our lastmphrys replied: “It is in-
ut I promise not to punch
you don’t punch me.”
the interview
the politi-
aid: “Our last
was very
nt and nei-
of us
ed eachh Hilary,
writer,
Woman’s
often
stories
mestic
e. This
Mum
ing
cyNews
only for Dad to come home drunk, kick
over the tables and punch the kids. I’m
sick of it, and imagine you must be too.
Time something was done, surely?”
Kay Burley, the Sky News broad-
caster, said: “I have always found
David Davis to be staggeringly sexist
but was shocked by John Humphrys.”
Ms Horley said: “It is disappointing
that in 2019 violence against women
and girls is still being trivialised rather
than challenged.
“Domestic abuse is never a joke, is
never acceptable, and should never be
normalised.
“Two women a week are killed by a
current or former partner in England
and Wales, and Refuge is currently
supporting 6,500 survivors of abuse.”
Last week, Humphrys was accused
of sexism when he said that women do a
better job as caregivers than men.Kirill Parshakov
and Anna Gudyno,
his dance partner
and actual partner,
above. He was
reportedly
disqualified from
a tango contest
after an altercation
with her. Below,
BBC presenter
John HumphrysThe Daily Telegraph Friday 23 August 2019 *** 9
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