SIXTY SECONDS
THE SKY NEWS PRESENTER, 51, TALKS ELECTION MADNESS, MOODY MORNINGS AND HER BRILLIANT LIVERPOOL ACCENT
It’s really exciting. I was there for the last one and this tops it by miles. Donald Trump is getting ready for a big showdown if he doesn’t get the result he wants. Legally, what are the ramifications if he decides not to leave the White House? It’s never happened before. He’s said he’s going to call a fix and not accept the result. We’ll see. What we don’t know is if there’ll be civil unrest. It’s tense.
What things should we look out for?
It’s complex – in 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by three million but didn’t win the presidency because it depends on the electoral college [where each state is worth a different number of overall ‘electoral’ votes].
This electoral vote is the decider so keep an eye on big states such as Texas and Florida. Florida has been Republican since 1924 and Texas is Republican but has a changing demographic.
What if people don’t know their electoral college from their caucuses?
We’re going to have a fantastic explainer wall and graphic back in the studio – Ed Conway [Sky News’s economics editor] is a master.
Will you be mainlining espresso all week?
I’m really bad with caffeine, it gives me the shakes and I get palpitations. The most I can do is one mocha a day.
So, who’s going to win?
Oh, don’t ask me that! I lie awake at night just thinking, ‘Who will it be, who will it be?!’ The polls are pointing towards Joe Biden but in 2016 they were pointing to Hillary Clinton and everybody was caught by surprise. I went to bed, woke up and thought, ‘What happened?!’ I really am scared to call it.
One of the most difficult interviews I’ve had to do is when one of our previous producers thought it would a good idea to put on air live an interviewee who had Tourette’s. But she really held herself together. In the end, just as we were going off air, she went, ‘F*** Santa!’
The great thing about Stephen is I don’t feel I have to talk to him, or even be nice to him!
Who’s more of a morning person, you or your Breakfast co-anchor Stephen Dixon?
I’m probably moodier than him in the morning. The great thing with having worked with him for so long is that I don’t feel I have to talk to him necessarily or even be nice to him!
You’ve broken plenty of big stories during your career. What’s been the trickiest?
The Jamie Bulger murder surpasses anything else in terms of the emotional impact on me. Especially on the day of the funeral, looking at that tiny white coffin. I’d been reporting for hours at the time and held it together, then I went back home and watched a replay and cried uncontrollably.
You’ve also been a magistrate for more than ten years...
I did a lot of court reporting when I was younger and I wanted to know more about how the decisions were taken. It’s a really different angle on life.
It can be quite heavy. I’ve been asked if I want to go into the family law division but I’ve decided not to because I would be more emotionally involved.
Do your children think it’s cool that mum’s on TV?
When my eldest was much younger we were watching a pre-recorded report I’d done and she was stunned. You could see her sitting upright like a meerkat and she looked at the television, looked at me, looked at the TV, looked at me, thinking, ‘Oh my God, I’ve got two mummies!’ My second daughter would be mortified at school when people would say, ‘We saw your mummy on the TV.’ And my son is indifferent, I think.
And you went on Celebrity Mastermind!
I was robbed! I was supposed to be tested on the Old Testament and certain parables and they strayed out of the boundaries. They had said before, ‘If there’s anything that’s amiss then stop the recording,’ but I couldn’t stop it because an audience was there. I was too polite. That’s one area where a recount would have been warranted.
Is religion a big part of your life?
I’m a practising Christian, though I haven’t been to church for months… but I normally go every week.
What if strict Covid rules remain over Christmas?
What do families of over six do? I don’t know how they’re going to police it but I do believe we have to try and respect the rules.
Do you have any unsung talents we should know about?