Strictly Come Dancing star Krishnan Guru-Murthy is widely recognized as a TV news anchor having started at BBC children’s news programme Newsround.
Subsequently, he served as a producer and reporter for BBC Two’s Newsnight, and later joined the Channel 4 team, becoming the second longest-serving presenter for the broadcaster, following Jon Snow. Since 1998, his reporting portfolio has encompassed significant events such as 9/11 and the Omagh bombing, in addition to covering five British general elections and providing special war reports from locations like Yemen, Gaza, and Syria.
Off-screen the star is married to Lisa Guru-Murthy, with the pair sharing two children. But it’s not all been smooth sailing as the star has faced some epic interview blunders throughout his career, has blasted the BBC, and was served a suspension by Channel 4.
Let’s take a look at the ups and downs of his career…
READ MORE: Strictly first live show chaos – bedbound judge, injuries and star ‘threatens to quit’
READ MORE: Want more TV? Daily Star has just the thing for you!
Interview blunders
Krishnan Guru-Murthy has had the privilege of interviewing some of the world’s biggest stars throughout his career but it’s come with its own set of blunders along the way. Krishnan has reflected on those blunders, saying that he would handle some of his big interviews “slightly differently” today, adding that he’s better at “defusing situations” than he was previously.
Speaking to Radio Times magazine’s View From My Sofa podcast, he said: “I think it’s one of those things that depends on the circumstances and the person and your level of experience at the time.” Notable interviews by Guru Murthy have included his 2013 chat with Quentin Tarantino, who refused to answer a question on whether film violence is linked to real-life violence, and a 2015 interview that saw Robert Downey Jr cut the conversation short and leave the room.
(Image: Channel 4)
Speaking to US radio host Howard Stern, Downey professed himself unrepentant about the incident, saying: “I just wish I’d left sooner” and dubbed him a “bottom-feeding muckraker”. Guru Murthy added: “You can be hypercritical and you can always say, ‘Well, why didn’t you say this? Why didn’t you do that? Why didn’t you calm it down a different way or whatever it might be, and then the interview would have carried on?
“But I think you just have to accept that things happen in the moment. You react the way you react, they react the way they react. It has an authenticity to it and as long as you didn’t make a terrible mistake, then you just live with it.”
Channel 4 suspension
(Image: Channel 4)
Krishnan Guru-Murthy was taken off air for a week by Channel 4 News in 2022 after he was recorded using an offensive insult about a government minister. Guru-Murthy apologised “unreservedly” to Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker after he used a strong swear word in an off-air remark after what he described as a “robust interview”.
Channel 4 said it has a strict code of conduct for employees and “takes any breaches seriously”. He wrote on Twitter at the time: “After a robust interview with Steve Baker MP I used a very offensive word in an unguarded moment off air.
(Image: Getty Images Europe)
“While it was not broadcast that word in any context is beneath the standards I set myself and I apologise unreservedly. “I have reached out to Steve Baker to say sorry.” Mr Baker told Times Radio that sacking Guru-Murthy would be a “service to the public” if he was found to be in breach of his code of conduct.
After appearing on that station, he replied to Guru-Murthy’s tweet, accepting the apology and saying he “appreciated” the gesture.
Blasting the BBC
(Image: BBC/Ray Burmiston)
The Channel 4 newsreader launched his career on the BBC presenting Newsround until 1994 when he moved to Newsnight before he left the broadcaster entirely in 1997. The 53-year-old is now Channel 4’s longest-running newsreader.
After Gary Lineker’s notorious row with the BBC over impartiality guidelines, Guru-Murthy appeared on The Political Party podcast in March when he said he “enjoys” when the Beeb is in trouble and he “cherishes” it. “There may be a boss you knew 20 years ago that you’re quite enjoying watching screw up or they sacked your friend, whatever that might be,” he said.
(Image: PA)
Have you joined Threads? Follow Daily Star to keep up to date on all things showbiz here
“There are grudges in the media obviously, which I’m quite happy to continue.” The BBC was reportedly not happy about the resurface comments as the star joined their hit show, Strictly Come Dancing.
“Everyone was excited to get Krishnan on board, but this has cast a bit of a shadow. The bosses are not happy,” a sourced told The Sun.
Strictly Come Dancing airs at Saturday, September 22 at 6.15pm on BBC One
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
