Andrew Neil has been lined up to host a new Sunday night political show on Channel 4, as he makes his first major return to broadcasting following his tumultuous tenure at rightwing network GB News.
In a noticeable shift to the left, Neil – a former BBC broadcaster and chairman of conservative magazine The Spectator – will present a programme on a channel he once derided as the “broadcasting arm of the Guardian”.
The 10-part live series will air in May – and has a working title of Sunday Politics with Andrew Neil, according to Channel 4. It is set to include “set-piece interviews with the highest profile politicians and newsmakers”.
‘The questions the public want to hear’
Neil, who revealed in September that he came close to having a breakdown at GB News and believes “it would’ve killed me” to carry on at the chaotic fledgling network, said he was “honoured and delighted” with his new gig.
He said: “Sunday night is a pivotal point in the political week – we can sweep up what’s happened in the previous week, mop up what’s been in the Sunday papers and talkshows and throw forward to the upcoming week. We’ll aim to do all of that and more.”
Louisa Compton, Channel 4’s head of news, current affairs and specialist factual and sport, said: “Andrew’s new show will deliver big-name politicians answering the questions the public want to hear.”
Ian Rumsey, the managing director of television at ITN productions, added: “If ever there was a time when Britain needed forensic questioning, brilliant political insight and to hold those in power to account, it’s now. And there’s no finer broadcaster to do that.”
It marks a significant volte-face for Neil, who previously tweeted about Channel 4 News: “Not helped by holly oaks [sic] inheritance. I like it. Broadcasting arm of the Guardian. But I like its serious agenda. Plus foreign news. And I know enough to discount its biases. As do most of its educated viewers. I watch it a lot.”
The veteran broadcaster walked away from a £4 million contract with GB News last year. He told the Daily Mail: “It was a big decision but I frankly couldn’t care if it was £40m. This would have killed me if I’d carried on.”
GB News fallout
Neil revealed he suffered sleep deprivation and stress during the network’s early days, which were blighted by technical problems. “It just went from bad to worse. There was one day we spent the whole day preparing the programme and fixing up a number of interviews down the line [remotely], because that was the business model.
“At one minute to eight [his flagship show was broadcast live at 8pm], I sat down, earpiece in, microphone on, only to be told by the director we had no external communications, so I had no guests.
“I was in despair. Unlike other shows, where there are two anchors, so they can talk rubbish to each other, I was on my own.”
He added that “the stress was huge” – and he felt like leaving by the end of his first week. “It was really beginning to affect my health. I wasn’t sleeping … I had a constant knot in my stomach. When I did wake up, I’d feel fine, then remember all the problems I had with GB News, and this knot would come and wouldn’t leave me for the whole day.”
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