{"id":53825,"date":"2024-06-25T18:20:11","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T16:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=2062449"},"modified":"2024-06-26T07:58:10","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T05:58:10","slug":"tom-bradby-on-surviving-election-night-you-feel-like-youve-been-punched-in-the-face-for-eight-hours","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/tom-bradby-on-surviving-election-night-you-feel-like-youve-been-punched-in-the-face-for-eight-hours\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Bradby on surviving Election Night: \u2018You feel like you\u2019ve been punched in the face for eight hours\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

ITN\u2019s anchor Tom Bradby tells Radio Times magazine he has learnt from the best when it comes to Election Night. But how has he survived so long? And why does he no longer care about being at the top of the tree? <\/p>

By Tom Loxley\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 25 June 2024 at 16:20 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Who would you trust to bring you the news on Election Night? Viewers of a certain age might hark back to the 1970s, choosing perhaps Alastair Burnet\u2019s gravelly staccato barely missing a beat as he juggled Robin Day\u2019s dogged questioning of a future cabinet minister with the animated interventions of the ever-present analysts, the politics professor with a Canadian drawl, Robert McKenzie, and donnish psephologist of swing David Butler.<\/p>\n

But for Tom Bradby, aged 57, there is only one man to learn from as he prepares for his biggest night in years. \u201cDavid Dimbleby is the best broadcaster I\u2019ve seen in my lifetime,\u201d says the host of ITV News at Ten and the anchor of their general election coverage this week. \u201cFor the last ten years I\u2019ve studied how he does things. He\u2019s completely unflappable. So I\u2019ve tried to be like him, piloting the ship\u2026 clear, calm and engaging.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike Burnet, Day, or so many of the greats of Election Nights past, Dimbleby is, of course, still very much with us, even if the BBC dispensed with his services in 2019. Do they talk about their shared trade, master to apprentice? \u201cYes, he lives just round the corner. I bump into him all the time. We chat for hours. I wouldn\u2019t say he gives me feedback, but we always have long and funny chats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does he think Dimbleby will be tuned to ITV come 10pm Thursday? \u201cI wouldn\u2019t dream of making any assumptions about where he was going to watch Election Night,\u201d he says, his eyes twinkling behind a pair of oversized tortoiseshell spectacles. It sounds like a yes.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re talking in Bradby\u2019s London flat, five floors up in a stuccoed Victorian terrace, a brisk 15-minute walk from Westminster. He has just flown in to London after seeing family abroad, a brief stopover on his way to Winchester where he lives with his jewellery designer wife Claudia, their house now an empty nest since his three 20-something children \u2013 two sons and a daughter \u2013 left home.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s as laid-back as he appears on screen \u2013 \u201cDon\u2019t Panic, Captain Mainwaring\u201d reads the legend on my mug as we sip tea in the late afternoon sunshine \u2013 every inch the unflappable voice of the news, whose easy charm and polish have made him friends not just among broadcasting royalty but real royalty, too. (Not that he talks about either Princes Harry or William these days. \u201cI\u2019ve taken the decision to keep my mouth shut.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\"Tom\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Tom Bradby.<\/span><\/figcaption> Roberto Ricciuti\/Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cI actually signed the News at Ten contract the day I came in to do the 2015 Election Night,\u201d he says. An ITN lifer, whose route from graduate trainee to grand fromage has taken in roles in Ireland, Washington and London, where he was first the royal correspondent and then political editor, he\u2019s been a constant presence on our screens for more than three decades. \u201cI never get nervous on live TV but on that day I thought, \u2018God, I hope I don\u2019t screw this up, because I only signed my contract two hours ago.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI really loved being political editor, but when the head of news and current affairs at ITV asked me what I wanted to do with my career, I said I\u2019d love to do Election Night. It tops everything.\u201d He considers it the ultimate test for a news anchor, a marathon race of nerve and skill that begins at 10pm and ends just before breakfast the following day.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re at the centre of a fascinating unfolding narrative. My kids have taken the piss out of me for years \u2013 \u2018Dad reads aloud for a living\u2019 \u2013 and I\u2019m the last person on the planet to say that being a TV presenter is rocket science. Transparently it\u2019s not. But in the middle of Election Night stuff happens really quickly, seats come thick and fast, and you have to talk about it for eight hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

How does he navigate that? \u201cThere are all these weird things we get up to. Like, if you can\u2019t go to the loo, how are you going to manage? I\u2019ve worked out that if I don\u2019t drink from 5pm but then start drinking again at 3am, I don\u2019t get too dehydrated. And you\u2019ve got chocolate, bananas and nuts to keep you going.\u201d<\/p>\n

What about the mental gymnastics? \u201cSometimes you get to the end of the night and realise you have had no personal reaction to the news at all, because all you\u2019ve been doing is thinking about the next five minutes and the questions you\u2019re going to ask. You come out and the whole world has had time to react and you just feel like you\u2019ve been punched in the face solidly for eight hours.\u201d<\/p>

With the polls indicating that this time around we\u2019ll have the most one-sided election in living memory, will that make things easier, more predictable, perhaps even boring? \u201cLet\u2019s just say, for the sake of argument, that the polls are right and Labour gets a really big majority, the Tories are in very, very difficult territory and, in Scotland, the SNP have a really bad night. You\u2019re into three completely fascinating stories straightaway. Does having a really big majority mean Labour can govern differently from if they had a majority of 20? Do the Tories merge with Reform? And in Scotland is independence off the agenda for a generation?\u201d<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Bradby will have by his side three big beasts of the political jungle better placed than most to answer those questions. Former cabinet secretaries Ed Balls and George Osborne are back, reprising their ITN general election double act that began in 2017, continued in 2019 and has since launched a podcast. But joining them this year will be Nicola Sturgeon, former First Minister of Scotland and ex-leader of the SNP, who barely 12 months ago was arrested in connection with a police investigation into the funding and finances of the SNP. It turns out hiring her was Bradby\u2019s idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought after 2019, how do we take it to the next level? Who do we put in there who people would be really interested in watching go from politician to analyst? I went up to Scotland and very carefully laid out over lunch how interesting it is to be an analyst and not have to stick to a party line. I think that\u2019s what appealed to her. She\u2019s up for new challenges. She was one of the pre-eminent figures of her generation and she\u2019s looking for the next phase in her life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nicola\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon.<\/span><\/figcaption> Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

While some might question the wisdom of hiring a figure being scrutinised by an ongoing police inquiry, Sturgeon does at least add a change of tone to a top table that some TV producers might condemn as pale, male and stale. We\u2019ve come a long way since a bunch of middle-aged white men had the general election stage to themselves. Does he feel exposed to the winds of change?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t particularly, because that\u2019s not my decision. That will be someone else\u2019s decision. There aren\u2019t many white male anchors left, dare I say, so I feel a bit less nervous about that than possibly I should. You just put your head down, do a good job and try to be as nice as you can to everyone around you. As you get older, you think, \u2018Will I be remembered as somebody who was decent to work with?\u2019 Because that\u2019s what you want to be remembered for. It\u2019s much easier to have that perspective when you\u2019re older.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bradby\u2019s outlook on life has changed dramatically in the last few years. In 2018 he had a breakdown. The underlying cause, he says now, was the death of his parents. But the trigger was insomnia. \u201cWhen I was having my breakdown, I went from thinking I was OK to being in really significant crisis, very fast. Because if you don\u2019t sleep at all the night before doing News at Ten, then you are terrified you\u2019re not going to be able to sleep again and you think, \u2018How am I going to do News at Ten tomorrow?\u2019 Then you can\u2019t sleep because you know you must sleep and you go into crisis. Even if your body has injected enough adrenaline into your system to get to functionality by 9.50pm.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end he stepped back from presenting duties and sought help. \u201cI went to one of Britain\u2019s best psychiatrists and my life changed completely. I carry very little stress around in my life now and I sleep soundly every night. It\u2019s a marvellous feeling to wake up and not worry about things.\u201d What sort of things? \u201cLike having to get to the top of the tree. The psychiatrist was pretty relentless about that. He\u2019d ask, \u2018Why do you care what people think of you?\u2019 In the end, you get ground down and think, \u2018OK, maybe it\u2019s better not to worry about it.\u2019 I still really want to succeed, but fundamentally if something doesn\u2019t go well, or people say bad things, I can\u2019t control it. So I don\u2019t worry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Television is an industry built on stress, success and fragile egos. After speaking about his breakdown in a series of interviews, he found himself being sought out by others from TV newsrooms. \u201cI ended up having two-hour conversations with people who I don\u2019t really know. When you\u2019re in crisis, you don\u2019t know what to do and I suppose people think, he was open about it, and they ask for a chat. After this is printed no doubt, I\u2019ll get a whole bunch more. I find it great. It\u2019s enhanced my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Huw\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Huw Edwards.<\/span><\/figcaption> Jeff Overs\/BBC News & Current Affairs via Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

On Election Night he will be going up against a pair of double acts \u2013 Clive Myrie and Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC and Emily Maitlis and Krishnan Guru-Murthy on Channel 4. The corporation\u2019s pairing replaced Huw Edwards, who\u2019d been the BBC\u2019s election anchor in 2019 but ended up in hospital last summer with what his wife called serious mental health issues after he was caught in an explicit photo scandal. He has since left the BBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Does Bradby think he could have helped? \u201cYes, probably, a bit. You think about the world differently once you\u2019ve had a breakdown and spent a lot of time talking about the stresses and strains we place on ourselves. The demands we feel we must meet and the standards we must achieve. Once you\u2019ve had a chance to rethink it, you\u2019re bound to view the world differently. I definitely do.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he\u2019s not presenting elections or the news, Bradby writes thrillers and screenplays. He says he has three careers. ITV recently announced it will be turning his novel Secret Service into a drama<\/a>, which starts filming next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wrote it in that period after I started News at Ten. When I look back, it\u2019s obvious that the female MI6 agent at the heart of the book is on the cusp of having a breakdown. If you follow the trilogy through, she does have a breakdown and then recovers. But when I go back and read it now, I can see this woman is psychologically on the edge. And I was psychologically on the edge when I wrote it. But I didn\u2019t know it. Which possibly makes me look a bit stupid. But hey ho.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an admirably phlegmatic approach. One that will no doubt serve him well in the heat of the studio lights at 3am on Election Night. Can he imagine a time when he would give it all up to spend more time with his novels?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been at ITN for 34 years. I\u2019m pretty institutionalised. I\u2019ve wanted to be a journalist since I was 17. I can\u2019t imagine waking up one day and not wanting to do this.\u201d He may be the last of the election news anchors standing, but he\u2019s not ready to set sail for the sunset yet.<\/p>\n

The Wimbledon and general election issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013 subscribe here<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Radio\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div><\/a><\/p>\n

ITV\u2019s Election Night coverage will air throughout the night on Thursday 4th July.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Streaming Guide<\/a>\u00a0to find out what\u2019s on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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