Big-headed presenters can learn from Sir David
The 81-year-old journalist is best known for hosting That’s Life! and talk show Esther. She set up children’s counselling service Childline and The Silver Line, which helps combat loneliness in older people. Here, she tells us about her TV loves and hates
What are you watching on TV at the moment?
Great Paintings Of The World with Andrew Marr on Channel 5. He chooses pictures that have become clichés on chocolate boxes, such as Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and Constable’s The Hay Wain, and makes us see them completely differently. He’s so passionate, it’s infectious. I also enjoy Channel 5’s royal documentaries on Saturday nights. The most recent one I watched was about the Middleton family, which was fun.
What’s your favourite format?
Daytime antiques programmes. I love them all – from Bargain Hunt to Antiques Road Trip. It’s fascinating when they discover some battered old piece of Staffordshire pottery is worth £9000. I watch with fascination but gradually these shows work their hypnotic magic and I fall asleep before the auction, so I never know the value of whatever it is they’ve been tracking down.
Is there anything on television you hate?
I loathe presenters who are too full of themselves and twinkle at the lens. I won’t name names but unfortunately they pop up all over the place. One of the world’s most successful television presenters is Sir David Attenborough and he tells stories that he cares about. That’s what makes him a great presenter.
A film you recommend?
Promising Young Woman, directed by Emerald Fennell, really resonated with me because it’s genuinely original. It’s a revenge thriller about a wickedly smart woman, played by Carey Mulligan, who leads a double life by night and entraps men who try to take advantage. It strikes the zeitgeist of the moment, there’s a twist in the plot and it’s beautifully put together.
You’re hosting a Boom Radio show with your daughter Rebecca. Tell us about that...
We’re having enormous fun. We have wildly different views and our animated discussions came as a culture shock to listeners who assumed I was St
● Esther of the Television. Rebecca has the naughtiest laugh and is often extremely funny – at my expense. We remind listeners of Ab Fab, I’m told. Esther and Rebecca’s show can be heard every Sunday at 7pm on Boom Radio, the UK’s music station for baby boomers. It’s available on DAB, smart speakers and a phone app.
I love antiques shows. But I fall asleep before the auction.