HAVING spent more than 25 years in mainstream journalism, presenter-journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy is effortless when it comes to confronting big political beasts and even bigger celebrity egos. After a recent stint in the dance reality TV show that is the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, he now seems ready to broaden his wings and fly a little lighter. A face that is now synonymous with Channel 4, thanks to a decade spent on the channel’s flagship Evening News at 7pm and the its mid day summary, Guru-Murthy also presents Un reported World on Channel 4, covering stories from around the world, and also fronts Channel 4 News’ podcast Ways to Change the World. As the media moves from analogue to digital, and from being broadly reliable (in its old format) to being constantly vulnerable to fake content and doctored images, Guru-Murthy takes his job of “live fact-checker” very seriously. The starkest change he observes in his inter views concerns accuracy as politicians now (post-2015) are saying things that are “baldly untrue: barefaced, to your face, they will tell you stuff that isn’t true. And they will say it in a very convinced way”. In his words, he is not “friends with politicians”, barring one exception and that is John Nicolson, an SNP MP whose job Guru-Murthy inherited when he worked on Newsnight. While political discussions continue to remain close to his heart, foreign reporting has always interested him. This is also one of the major reasons for not leaving Channel 4, as it routinely has “this tradition of sending the an chors out to do journalism”. The year 2023 can easily be said to have opened a new chapter for Guru-Murthy as we saw a newer, fitter version of him on our screens but in a totally different avatar. Over one year, the 53-year-old embarked on a fitness odyssey, one that saw him drop two-and-a-half stones (almost 16kg), bouncing between a detox clinic, the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing ballroom and a local boxing gym. Known to have battled health issues for a while, Guru-Murthy, initially weighing nearly 15 stone (95kg+), admittedly felt a pressing need to take control of his health before embarking on the ballroom journey. Due to a genetic heart condition, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which had claimed the lives of his two cousins, his medical history weighed heavily on his decision. However, beating the odds, he soon discovered a fondness for fitness and emerged fitter, leaner and every more ready to take on the challenges week after week on the reality dance TV show. “I have no idea why I didn’t want to do this sooner. It’s like a massive serotonin injection.” he tweeted (on the platform now known as X) at the time. During his time on the show, he admitted he was often too serious due to his lengthy career as a journalist and that Strictly allowed him to unleash the more light-hearted side of himself. Guru-Murthy’s journey started back at school when he harboured dreams of becoming a politician. Debating society was just the first step where he started enjoying not only the topics discussed but the sense of competition and the cachet that came with it. Growing up he became a member of both the Manchester Youth Theatre and National Youth Theatre but initially wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father and become a doctor, so he earned a place to study Medicine at Oxford University. However, after undertaking some work experience for BBC Scotland just a week before receiving his A-Level results, everything changed for Guru-Murthy. From his work experience placement, he was offered a job as a presenter on BBC Two youth debate show Open to Question, in 1988 when he was just 18 years old. Alongside his part-time presenting work for the BBC, he attended Oxford University but then opted to study Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) instead of Medicine. Post-graduation, he continued his broad casting career with the BBC and from 1991 to 1994 he was a host and reporter on children’s news programme Newsround. He then went on to work as a producer and reporter on the current affairs programme on the channel, Newsnight. While at the BBC, he covered major news stories, including the death of Diana, Princess of Wales; the 1997 general election; and even spent some of his Saturday nights hosting The National Lottery Live! before deciding to leave the broadcaster in 1998. Moving over to Channel 4, he began to host weekend broadcasts and carry out investigative journalism pieces. At Channel 4, he has covered global events from the Omagh bombing, 9/11, and the Mumbai attacks, to compiling special war reports from Syria, Yemen, Gaza and Ukraine. With a focus on foreign affairs, he is one of the main reporters for Unreported World, which has seen him with an Iraqi bomb squad, travel to South Africa to examine lingering and on-going social problems post-apartheid. By 2020, he had become the lead anchor of Channel 4 News. He also regularly anchored special political shows on the channel including The Real Brexit Debate and Live: The Labour Leadership De bate, as well as, making contributions to the 2012 and 2014 Paralympic Games. Outside of news broadcasting, he appeared in 2019’s series of Stand Up To Cancer’s Celebrity Great British Bake Off for Channel 4 and commentated for Channel 4’s coverage of the opening ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Winter Paralympics in Russia. Other shows in his portfolio are The TV Show, The Operation: Surgery Live, The Event – How Racist are You?, The Autopsy, The Exorcism, the quiz show Number One and two series of Going Cold Turkey. Guru-Murthy is a trustee of Duchenne UK. It is a leading charity that works in the area of muscular dystrophy by raising awareness and helping to tackle the condition known as Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Guru-Murthy was instrumental in founding the Duchenne Dash – a 24-hour cycle ride from London to Paris, in 2013 and created to raise money for this admired charity. Guru-Murthy was also appointed to the board of trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 2018, and was reappointed to the role in 2021. Today, Guru-Murthy is the longest Channel 4 News’ second-longest-serving presenter, after the now retired Jon Snow. He was also a part of the recently concluded Strictly UK tour and has been very expressive about his intentions to do more in show business. Inspired by his experience on Strictly Come Dancing and motivated by his 16-year-old son Jay, who performed at Glastonbury Festival with his band Askew, the 53-year-old has warned his son that he better watch out…!
Site Navigation
Search
Latest Stories
Start your day right!
Get latest updates and insights delivered to your inbox.
Related News
More For You
Most Popular
Comment
Aga Khan IV tribute: ‘His vision and impact transcended borders, faiths and generations’
Naushad Jivraj
14 February
Load More
© Copyright 2025 Garavi Gujarat Publications Ltd & Asian Media Group USA Inc