Nick Robinson could have made use of some of these tips while trying to interrupt the PM’s stream of words on the Today programme
Boris Johnson went on Radio 4’s Today programme for the first time in two years last week, and you could tell. The prime minister was so excited that the interviewer, Nick Robinson, could hardly get a word in. In the end Robinson started talking over Johnson. “Prime minister, are you going to pause?” he said, irritably. “Prime minister, stop talking.” It’s the presenter’s equivalent of the footballer’s professional foul: not pretty, but sometimes unavoidable, the calling card of a battle-scarred veteran.
Getting prattlers to shut up is an age-old dilemma for broadcasters. Politicians are trained from birth to prevaricate. By the time they reach maturity they have an
Arsenal of time-wasting tics: “this is important” and “if you’d just let me finish,” and “well, I’m glad you’ve asked that, because as I’ve said many times to my constituents and the prime minister has said often in parliament and in interviews, this is exactly the kind of vital question on which our voters have every right to expect clear answers.” Impartiality rules mean interviewers can’t be too brusque, so every political interview turns into a version of Just a Minute where the interviewee tries to get through the slot without getting themselves cancelled.