‘I LOVE A SURPRISE AND I LOVE A PARTY’ Fiona Bruce talks marshalling Question Time and why it’s important to be rebellious

Fiona Bruce, the face of Question Time and Antiques Roadshow, opens up about both her TV career and her off-screen life

Fiona Bruce has been a constant in Britain’s homes for more than 30 years. She switches with ease from her serious and authoritative news presenting to the comforting warmth and joy we know and love on Antiques Roadshow. In January 2019, she became the first female presenter of BBC’S Question Time. During the months since, she’s aced it, and is helping the programme celebrate its 40th anniversary.

In person, she’s warm, funny and thoughtful with a hearty, excitable laugh – sharing jokes about her baking disasters (‘I’m a terrible cook!’ she exclaims), and how the thought of wearing make-up and smart clothing on the weekends fills her with dread. ‘When I’m not working, I like to put zero thought into it. I’m absolutely not bothered.’ At home, Fiona lives with husband Nigel Sharrocks and their son Sam, 21, and daughter Mia, 17.

Do you ever sit back and take stock of what you’ve achieved?

Oh God, no, I don’t look at it like that. Each time I start something new, I feel incredibly fortunate. Each job brings different challenges. Question Time has been the most challenging of anything I’ve ever done by some considerable distance. So I just think, ‘I’d better not mess this up.’

How did you feel when you first took over from David Dimbleby?

I was incredibly nervous to start with, more nervous than I’ve been for anything in years. That has eased off now, but Question Time is not a programme that you can relax into. You are marshalling the programme from where you sit, rather than interviewing, so