Emily Maitlis

Emily Maitlis (born 6 September 1970) is a British journalist, documentary filmmaker and newsreader for the BBC. She presents BBC Two's news and current affairs programme Newsnight, and also covers elections for the BBC in UK, US and Europe.

"Maitlis" redirects here. For the chemist, see Peter Maitlis.

Emily Maitlis
Maitlis in April 2010
Born (1970-09-06) 6 September 1970
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Citizenship
  • Canadian
  • British
EducationKing Edward VII School, Sheffield
Alma materQueens' College, Cambridge
OccupationJournalist, news presenter
Notable credit(s)
BBC News
Newsnight
BBC News at Five
BBC News at One
Home townSheffield, England, UK
Spouse(s)Mark Gwynne
Children2

In January 2014, she became acting political editor of Newsnight when she temporarily replaced Allegra Stratton, who took maternity leave until later that year, and in 2019 led an all-female line-up.[1]

Early life and education

Maitlis was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada to British Jewish parents;[2] her paternal grandmother was a Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany.[2] She is the daughter of Professor Peter Maitlis FRS, Emeritus Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Sheffield, and Marion Maitlis, a psychotherapist.[3][1][4]

Maitlis was brought up in Sheffield, Yorkshire, and was educated at the King Edward VII School and Queens' College, Cambridge. She speaks fluent Spanish, Italian and French, as well as some Mandarin.[5] As of 2019 she is the only Newsnight presenter not to have attended a private school.[1]

Career

Maitlis initially wanted to work as a director, prompted by her love for drama, but instead went into radio broadcasting.[1] Prior to working in news, she was a documentary maker in Cambodia and China. She worked for the NBC network and was based in Hong Kong.

She spent six years in Hong Kong with TVB News and NBC Asia, initially as a business reporter creating documentaries, and then as a presenter in Hong Kong covering the collapse of the tiger economies in 1997.[6] She also covered the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong with Jon Snow for Channel 4.[7] She then moved to Sky News in the UK as a business correspondent, and then to BBC London News when the programme was relaunched in 2001.

During 2005, Maitlis appeared as the question-master on the game show The National Lottery: Come And Have A Go. She was a regular presenter on BBC News during 2006, joining as part of a new line-up in April to present alongside Ben Brown from 7 pm to 10 pm during the week. She also presented BBC Breakfast and from May 2006 until July 2007 presented STORYFix on BBC News, a light-hearted look at the week's news set to up-beat music.

In July 2007, Maitlis was appointed as a contributing editor to The Spectator magazine, an unpaid post. This had been approved by her immediate manager, the head of BBC Television News Peter Horrocks, but the decision was subsequently overturned by his superior, the BBC News director Helen Boaden.[8] She then went on maternity leave and was replaced at the BBC by Joanna Gosling. On her return, she began presenting on Mondays from 2 pm – 5pm alongside Jon Sopel until 2013.

In 2012, Maitlis presented the US 2012 election coverage on BBC One and the BBC News Channel alongside David Dimbleby, when incumbent US President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were fighting for the presidency of the US. In 2016, she began presenting a news discussion programme called This Week's World on BBC Two, late afternoon on Saturdays.

Maitlis is one of the main presenters of Newsnight on BBC Two, alongside Kirsty Wark. After each show, before bed, she answers emails from viewers and in April 2019 published a book Airhead: The Imperfect Art of Making News, describing how television news is produced.[1][9] She is also a relief shift presenter on the BBC News channel, including the BBC News at Five, and occasionally presents the BBC News at One which is also broadcast on BBC One.

In November 2019, Maitlis interviewed the Duke of York, Prince Andrew about his relationship with American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein who died in August whilst awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The interview was broadcast on the BBC's Newsnight programme on 16 November 2019.[10] Due in part to the disastrous fallout from Prince Andrew’s performance during this interview, he later resigned from his Royal duties.[11][12]

In February 2020, her interview with Prince Andrew won Interview of the Year and Scoop of the Year awards at the 2020 RTS Television Journalism Awards.[13]

Controversies

In a Newsnight discussion concerning Brexit on 15 July 2019[14] it was alleged that Maitlis had been "sneering and bullying" towards columnist Rod Liddle. Maitlis accused Liddle's columns of containing "consistent casual racism week after week", asking Liddle if he would describe himself as a racist. An investigation by the BBC Executive Complaints Unit upheld the complaints against her, agreeing that she been "persistent and personal" in her criticism of Liddle, thus "leaving her open to the charge that she had failed to be even-handed" in the discussion between Brexit-supporting Liddle and his anti-Brexit opponent Tom Baldwin. The successful complainant suggested that the broadcast exemplified the way the BBC viewed leave voters, whilst Douglas Murray described the segment as "more of a drive-by shooting than an interview".[15][16][17]

On 27 May 2020, the BBC said that Maitlis's introduction to Newsnight the night before, which discussed the lockdown row over the Prime Minister's chief adviser Dominic Cummings, "did not meet our standards of due impartiality". The broadcaster said in a statement: "The BBC must uphold the highest standards of due impartiality in its news output. Ms Maitlis started the show by declaring that Mr Cummings had 'broken the rules'".[18] She stood aside as the host of Newsnight on that day after asking to take the night off.[19]

Personal life

Maitlis is married to investment manager Mark Gwynne whom she met while working in Hong Kong.[1] The couple have two children, Milo and Max.[1][20][21] Maitlis is a keen runner[1] and a WellChild Celebrity Ambassador.[22]

She presented the 2012 World Jewish Relief’s annual dinner at Guildhall, London.[23]

During an interview on The Jonathan Ross Show, Maitlis revealed that she had proposed to her husband while on holiday in Mauritius in 2000.[24]

An interview in The Guardian reads: "the family are Jewish, although Maitlis has said she herself is "not very practising".[1]

Stalking

During 2002, it was reported that Maitlis had been stalked for over a decade by a former platonic friend from her time at university, Edward Vines. Vines would appear at her place of work. He admitted harassing Maitlis and was sentenced to four months' imprisonment, but released because of the time he had spent on remand. A restraining order was imposed.[25]

In September 2016, the same man was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for breach of the restraining order in respect of Maitlis.[26] In January 2018, Vines was jailed for 3 years and 9 months for breaching a restraining order forbidding him to contact Maitlis.[27] He admitted two charges of breaching the restraining order by sending two letters to Maitlis and emails and letters to her mother in 2015.[28][29] In September 2019, while a prisoner at HMP Ranby in Nottinghamshire, he pleaded not guilty to breaching an order restraining him from contacting her by writing a letter with the intention it be passed to her.[30] That case led to him being sentenced, in February 2020, to a further three years' imprisonment.[31]

In a BBC Radio 5 Live interview, Maitlis likened the long-term harassment to having a chronic illness.[32]

Awards

Maitlis won Broadcast Journalist of the Year at the 2017 London Press Club Awards[33] and the Network Presenter of the Year award at the RTS Television Journalism Awards in 2019 and 2020.[34][35]

Publications
  • Airhead: The Imperfect Art of Making News (23 April 2019), 352 pages, ISBN 978-0241362853.[36]

See also

References
  1. Hinsliff, Gaby (21 April 2019). "Emily Maitlis: 'I always think, Oh my God, I'm exhausted, I want vodka and bed'". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  2. Greenstreet, Rosanna (20 April 2019). "Emily Maitlis: 'I've ended up in prison a number of times'". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  3. Ebner, Sarah (19 April 2017). "Emily Maitlis: Getting it right". =The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  4. Waterson, Jim (22 March 2019). "Emily Maitlis: 'Her winning quality is she doesn't take herself too seriously'". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  5. "'Flirtation, seduction and betrayal'" – interview, The Guardian, 6 March 2006. Retrieved 14 July 2007: "Maitlis, who speaks fluent Spanish, Italian and French (and "crap" Mandarin), is no easy touch."
  6. "Emily Maitlis" Archived 22 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine – profile, "BBC Newsnight", 30 March 2006. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  7. "Emily Maitlis: A lot of front", Archived 19 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine – profile, The Independent, 19 March 2006. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  8. Stephen Brook "BBC criticised for 'Vicky Pollard management'", The Guardian, 11 July 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
  9. Sturges, Fiona (18 April 2019). "Airhead by Emily Maitlis review – up close with Trump and the Dalai Lama". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  10. "As it happened: Prince Andrew's Interview". BBC News. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  11. Mansoor, Sanya. "'Only One of Us Is Telling the Truth.' The Biggest Moments From Prince Andrew Accuser Virginia Giuffre's BBC Interview". time.com. Time. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  12. Martin, Guy. "Prince Andrew's Public Relations War With Virginia Roberts Giuffre: Her Direct Appeal To Britain Harries His Retreat". Forbes. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  13. "Prince Andrew interview wins Maitlis RTS award". Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  14. Brexit: Rod Liddle and People's Vote's Tom Baldwin on 'betrayal' - BBC Newsnight - YouTube
  15. BBC upholds complaint against Emily Maitlis over 'sneering' Newsnight discussion with Rod Liddle
  16. The BBC can no longer claim to be impartial
  17. https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/sites/default/files/2020-01/Bulletin%20April%20-%20September%2019.pdf
  18. "Newsnight 'breached BBC impartiality guidelines'". BBC News. 27 May 2020.
  19. Waterson, Jim (28 May 2020). "Emily Maitlis says she asked for night off after Dominic Cummings storm". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  20. "My week: Emily Maitlis" Archived 27 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine The Observer, 7 May 2006. Retrieved 27 April 2007
  21. "My Jewish Moments: Emily Maitlis". The Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2009.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  22. "Celebrity Ambassadors". WellChild.
  23. "World Jewish Relief supporters help to create a 'modern day miracle'". World Jewish Relief.
  24. "Emily Maitlis reveals what husband Mark REFUSED to do after shock marriage proposal". Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  25. "BBC newsreader stalker walks free". BBC News. 19 September 2002. Archived from the original on 17 April 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  26. Gayle, Damien; Quinn, Ruth (5 September 2016). "Emily Maitlis stalker jailed for three years". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 September 2016.
  27. Rawlinson, Kevin (16 January 2018). "Emily Maitlis stalker jailed for breaching restraining order". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  28. "Emily Maitlis stalker jailed for breaching restraining order". The Guardian. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  29. "BBC star Emily Maitlis' harasser sentenced". BBC News. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  30. "Man 'breached Emily Maitlis restraining order'". BBC. 6 September 2019.
  31. "Emily Maitlis stalker jailed for 12th breach of restraining order". The Guardian. PA Media. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  32. Walker, Amy (16 January 2020). "Emily Maitlis stalker admits breaching restraining order". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  33. "Press Club Awards 2017".
  34. "Winners of RTS Television Journalism Awards 2019 announced". Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  35. "Winners of RTS Television Journalism Awards 2020 announced". Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  36. "Airhead: The Imperfect Art of Making News". Michael Joseph. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
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