This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. In an interview with the Mails Jan Moir in 2021, Rajan after careful thought decided his greatest virtue was . Ever since he joined the BBC from The Independent, where as editor he presided over the printed newspapers closure and its transition to an online-only news service, Rajans star has risen with astonishing speed. ", The Daily Mail reports in one open letter to William and Kate after they had announced their first pregnancy, Rajan congratulated the couple, but wrote: "Neither of you have a special claim on the glorious city of Cambridge so quit pretending you do.". While pontificating on the Iraq War, he took a moment to explain to the audience why he spoke from such a position of authority. ", RepliKates: Meet the women who collect the Princess of Wales's wardrobe, Princess Charlotte seen in new image taken by Kate to mark eighth birthday, Coronation flypast route: Where you can watch the display from the ground. Veteran broadcaster Paxman, 72, announced he was due to. But no one from the BBC has spoken to me yet about taking over. 'I'll devote my first Starter for 10 to him - and to the millions of quiz fiends who, like me, love those rare occasions when they know the answer before the students do.'. Bowing out after 25 years, Mr Paxman presented a Newsnight programme including an interview with then-London mayor Boris Johnson, while they both rode a tandem bicycle. Are you excited for University Challenge to return? To recap: the BBCs media editor, Rajan, has now been the subject of days of unfavourable press and reported outrage from the royal family for saying that William and Harrys households briefed against each other. He became a presenter of Newsnight in 1989, a position he would hold until June 2014 during which time he interviewed high-profile figures from politics and culture. Amols wearing jeans and a red sweatshirt how things have changed on the Home Service., Then a cocksure Rajan chipped in: Is it called modernisation or something?. Ive had an amazing time rehearsing & being a standby presenter for it this year. Well, almost. If you want a more contemporary instance of timing, the Mail on Sunday only this week lost its appeal against a privacy action brought by Meghan yet no one is suggesting they suspend all coverage of her. ", He added: "I'm completely committed to impartiality and hope our recent programmes can be judged on their merits. For other inquiries, Contact Us. Sitting with one arm nonchalantly slung behind his seat, his slightly brash, familiar tone may prove to be as distracting as it is disarming., Rajan in an interview with the Daily Mail's Jan Moir in 2021. I had been so excited to see Samira as the new host, but someone High Up at the Beeb has chosen someone else. Rajan asked Oborne if he had. But it is a tribute to the business that said burden is shouldered daily by any number of lavishly shameless individuals, across all titles, without exception. . Ed Sheeran devastated after his beloved Irish grandmother who inspired one of his hit songs dies. More than slightly puzzled by it and a little resentful of it.. However, she went on to claim someone high up at the BBC chose someone else, who turned out not to be Rajan. Amol Rajan also branded Prince Philip a 'racist buffoon'. The documentary prompted the broadcast of a Christmas carol service led by the Duchess of Cambridge at Westminster Abbey to be moved from the BBC to ITV. It said: "A free, responsible and open press is of vital importance to a healthy democracy. Just before the 8am pips on Radio 4s flagship current affairs programme last Friday, one of the presenters issued the traditional reminder to listeners: Youre listening to Today on Radio 4 with Amol Rajan and Justin Webb. He said his doctor had him tested for the incurable condition after seeing him on University Challenge during lockdown. Mr Paxman walks with the aid of a walking stick in Manchester last year, shortly before he revealed his diagnosis. Jeremy Paxman largely facilitated that environment. And this morning Justin is wearing a cardigan, a sort of a cross between an actor from Starsky & Hutch and Val Doonican. I did very much enjoy his book on spin bowlers, though a much better way of spending an evening than having champagne misted halitotically over you by a parade of dickheads who imagine that their work is hugely significant. In the first of five programmes discussing how we should respond to population change around the world, Amol Rajan and guests ask, 'Is demography destiny?' Show more Download Choose your file. The 39-year-old has been the BBC's media editor since December 2016 and a presenter on BBC Radio 4's Today programme since May 2021. That the newspapers many of whose royal correspondents appears as on-camera interviewees in Rajan's documentary are now going in hard on it with stories of the Monarchy's "displeasure" and claims that in the words of The Daily Mail "Meghan's mouthpieces" were privileged over the "rest of the Royals" is just . Rajans presenting style has begun to attract comment from even the most cautious of commentators, with the Financial Times recently describing him dryly as the BBCs increasingly ubiquitous presenter. After playing excerpts from the interview, Rajan said: And if that isnt enough for you, the whole series, which has got interviews with the likes of Greta Thunberg stop laughing, Justin Billie Jean King and Ian McKellen thats a good one is on BBC Sounds . Anyone unfamiliar with the normcore dress codes of Silicon Valley might mistake the BBC man for the billionaire, as presenter Amol Rajan bounces to California to meet the CEO of Alphabet,. He will continue to be a presenter on the Today programme and will also continue the Amol Rajan Interviews show. He was the editor of the Independent, they must have thought, hell understand, hell listen, hell take me seriously. The spectacle of tabloid journalists ANY journalists demanding the royal family get shown an entire documentary before it airs, so they can approve it, is hardcore through-the-looking-glass stuff. Like the worst party ever, it sends you to bed grateful: an inexpressible feeling of escape. Rebecca English For Daily Mail. There are people in the legal profession flabbergasted at the size of the damages that. All rights reserved. It has emerged the host of Radio 4's flagship Today programme described the Duke of Edinburgh as a "racist buffoon", the Prince of Wales as "scientifically illiterate" and said events to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee were "little more than the industrialisation of mediocrity". Amol Rajan's The Princes and the Press reveals the parasitical sycophancy of royal correspondents The gargoyles on display here only make their weird, semi-necrophilia seem all the more repellent by talking so very earnestly about it. Perhaps thats no surprise given this is Britains longest running TV quiz, in a nation of quiz lovers. 'Other royals, particularly Prince Philip and the scientifically illiterate Prince Charles, who champions policies that would lead to the murder by starvation of millions of Africans, I dislike.'. No one would have done more to improve that than @SamiraAhmedUK, having seen her practise presenting and talked with her about the shows values. 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An accompanying podcast, Harry, Meghan And The Media, also presented by Rajan, claimed that Meghan Markle co-operated with author Omid Scobie on the Finding Freedom biography and 'apologised for misleading a court on this'. Rajan will become only the third person to host the BBC programme, which first aired in 1962 with presenter Bamber Gascoigne. , others. Rajan apologised after describing the public role of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (pictured) as a 'total fraud' and called Prince Philip a 'racist buffoon'. BBC appoints Amol Rajan as Radio 4 Today programme presenter. 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Before we go on, I should say I have never so much as met Rajan, in case anyone imagines were friends from some cursed London media party circuit (I do not attend cursed parties). The BBC was also faced a complaint from The Duchess of Sussex following a segment of a podcast Harry, Meghan And The Media to accompany the BBC2 documentary, in which it said Meghan Markle had apologised for 'misleading' the High Court. BBC's media editor Amol Rajan (pictured left) is replacing Jeremy Paxman (pictured right) as the host of University Challenge. A BBC spokesperson said: Once journalists join the BBC, they leave past views at the door. He has covered for Zoe Ball and Jeremy Vine on Radio 2, and been a regular stand-in on The One Show. However, this is emphatically not to suggest that royal stories are the exclusive province of royal correspondents. In 2013 he was promoted to editor of The Independent, which, at the age of 29, made him the youngest editor of a broadsheet title in Britain. This is worse. Amol Rajan [1] (born 4 July 1983) is an Indian-born British journalist and broadcaster who was the BBC 's Media Editor from December 2016 [2] to January 2023, [3] and has been a presenter on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 since 2021. Jeremy Paxman to step down as University Challenge host, BBCs Amol Rajan criticised for using phrase pro-life in Roe v Wade interview, BBCappoints Amol Rajan as Radio 4 Today programme presenter, Independent editor: I didn't react fast enough to claims we backed Tories, Independent editor knew paper would close on day he took the job. I was greedy, I was into my cocaine, he offered as an explanation for his rabid investigations into her private life (at the time, he wanted needed to know all about any STIs Davy might have had). Amol Rajan's University Challenge disaster | The Spectator Congratulations to Amol Rajan, who adds the mantle of University Challenge host to his burgeoning portfolio of BBC jobs. The 39-year-old journalist has been named as the new host of BBC quiz show University Challenge, taking over from seasoned broadcaster Jeremy Paxman. Bloody people, he remarked to William and Harry, before catching sight of the BBCs Nicholas Witchell. I wont stop thinking today about my late, beloved Dad, whose devotion to education brought him to England, whose love of knowledge I imbibed as a kid, and whose belief in the noble challenge of university so shaped my life. University Challenge really is my favourite programme. The second part of the doc was titled 'Sussexit'- after Harry said the term 'Megxit' was a misogynistic term that was "created by a troll [and] amplified by royal correspondents". . He seems to doubt anyone watching could have even the vaguest grasp not only of the basics of journalism, but of the English language itself. It is not the first time Rajan has been the focus of royal controversy. 'However the BBC has always made clear the scientific and medical consensus on vaccination and its effectiveness, and we have done so throughout our coverage of this story.'. As Rajan sombrely notes, royal reporting is not scripture, by which he means, I suppose, that it is basically gossip, as delivered by a servant. Forgive me Im just trying to understand the specific level it would be acceptable for a person such as Amol Rajan to reach. A former researcher on University Challenge has heavily criticised the BBC for appointing Amol Rajan as Jeremy Paxmans replacement. Its the best possible antidote to cynicism about young people, allowing millions of us to test our wits against the best minds of a new generation, and annoy and impress our families by barking answers from the sofa. A trivial point, perhaps, but one, say some colleagues, wholly in keeping with the character of the man. Think of the Swiss photocall at which a boom mic picked up Prince Charles observing the dutiful ranks of royal press. Its fair I think to say Amol isnt the favourite person on the planet, says one insider. Rajan made his 'brick joke' in response to a tweet by his Independent colleague Rebecca Armstrong, on September 23, 2012. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. King Charles' Coronation LIVE: Anne dismisses 'slimmed down monarchy' and poll shows rock solid support for DR MARTIN SCURR: Why have I always had a runny nose for 30 years - and what can I do to make it stop? Amol Rajan was behind the microphone and it was his name that got the first mention. Rajan, a former editor of The Independent, was forced to apologise after making incendiary remarks about the royals in articles written for the newspaper in 2012. Anonymous briefing is the royal beats lifeblood, helped by the fact royal households are famously Earths most bitchy workplaces (not even newspaper offices or the BBC come close). Mr Paxman opened up about his Parkinson's diagnosis last year in a newspaper interview. Maybe so, but it appears to have done little to instil a love of Britains institutions. In a series of tweets, Rajan, 38, said he "deeply regretted" the comments he had made in a "former life". Users on Twitter were quick to comment, with many hitting out at the BBC. A rare joint statement from Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace was included at the end of the BBC Two documentary. Neither of us were properly informed of why we were no longer a part of the show, she explained. It gives me hope for the future.'. Ms Armstrong had written: "Watching a mad cat programme on Animal Planet. And he said he "deeply regrets" his incendiary words. She explained how she had worked on making casting more diverse, with more female, non-binary and queer students on the programme the ever before, as well as a significant number of neurodiverse students. As longtime observers of so-called Fleet Street will be aware, living down to expectations is a constant burden. Ive always been happy to go through an honest fair process and be judged on my merits. Rajan was also a restaurant critic for The Independent on Sunday, leading to occasional guest appearances on BBC One cooking show MasterChef. He has been married to Charlotte Faircloth since September 2013 and the couple have three children. Pictured left to right: David Brice, Adam Barr, Richard Gilbert, and Deborah Brown. The BBCs media editor, 39, was confirmed to be taking over from Paxman last year, after the 72 year old announced he was stepping down after nearly three decades. The presenter will . 'We appreciate that not everyone will agree with our choice of story running orders, but we consider that this has been a big ongoing news story which also encompasses key issues such as mandatory vaccination and international travel restrictions. Amol Rajan was behind the microphone and it was his name that got the first mention. 'I wrote things that were rude and immature and I look back on them now with real embarrassment, and ask myself what I was thinking, frankly'. Ill be stuck to the next episode like fly paper. At the time, he commented of Rowling: In a blog about the transgender debate, she offended many people. I cant bear that man anyway. After the remarks resurfaced, following the airing of the documentary, he tweeted: 'In reference to very reasonable questions about some foolish commentary from a former life, I want to say I deeply regret it. I approached University Challenge myself months ago Ive loved working with the fab team who seem to love me and just narrated a UC [University Challenge] documentary thats going out on BBC Two.