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Krishnan Guru-Murthy

Krishnan Guru-Murthy

KRISHNAN GURU-MURTHY, one of the most recognisable faces on British television news, played his part brilliantly in the ongoing debate regarding prime minister Boris Johnson’s Jimmy Savile slur.

Culture secretary Nadine Dorries has been widely criticised for repeatedly insisting that Boris Johnson “tells the truth” during an interview with Guru-Murthy. She was interviewed by Channel 4 in January 2022 after the prime minister made false claims against Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.


In a clip watched millions of times online, Guru-Murthy asked: “How can you have a prime minister just repeating fake news like that?” When Guru-Murthy added that Johnson had said things that are “untrue” and that he “misled that House”, Dorries replied: “The prime minister tells the truth.”

In September 2021, Guru-Murthy was reappointed to the board of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, a world-famous scientific organisation, for three years. His term will run from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2024.

When The Guardian asked Guru-Murthy, what was the most important lesson life has taught him, he replied he hadn’t learned the most important lesson yet. He added he wanted to apologise to every offended interviewee.

Known for his innovative and fresh styles, Guru-Murthy, 51, began presenting youth television for the BBC at 18. He went on to report for and produce Newsround and Newsnight. In 1998, he joined Channel 4 News, where he is one of the anchors. As an Oxford student he fronted the Asian current affairs programmes East and Network.

In October 2020, he hosted a live debate show titled ‘Live: Divided Britain: The Lockdown Debate’, centred around the coronavirus lockdown measures introduced by the government. It saw participation from politicians, business owners, doctors and scientists on the critical issues facing the UK during the most intense period of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He garnered attention when he suggested Britons donate to food charities to plug free school meal hole. “I wonder how many children’s meals could be paid for if everyone tweeting about child hunger in Britain could afford to donate whatever they spent on their own food in a day to the charity Marcus Rashford supports: FareShareUK,” he wrote on Twitter, which started a heated debate.

Noted for his no-nonsense interview technique, Guru-Murthy does not shy away from asking tough questions. This can sometimes lead to clashes.

On one occasion, Hollywood star and Iron Man Robert Downey Junior walked out on Guru-Murthy after taking exception to a question about his personal life. It should perhaps be noted that Downey has substance issues and has talked about them in the past. In another memorably fractious encounter, movie director Quentin Tarantino refused to answer a fairly standard question about the possible link between on-screen violence and actual violence during an interview about his 2013 film Django Unchained.

“I am shutting your butt down,” the iconic film-maker spat at the laconic Guru-Murthy who, maintaining his characteristic composure, went on to elicit some revealing, entertaining and co-operative responses from his subject during the rest of the interview.

Guru-Murthy’s interview with Conservative MP Ben Bradley in March 2019 is also regarded as something of a classic. The Mansfield MP had voted Remain but has since backed Leave, though without always voting with the government, prompting Guru-Murthy to ask: ‘Why do you get to change your mind?”

A patron of the Duchenne Children’s Trust, Guru-Murthy created the Duchenne Dash, a London to Paris charity cycle ride that he completed in 24 hours. Guru-Murthy grew up also highfliers. Sister Geeta is a regular on BBC News and brother Ravi worked for David Miliband when he was a Labour MP. He lives in Kew with his wife Lisa and their two children.

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