Krishnan Guru-Murthy (born 5 April 1970) is a British journalist. He is the lead presenter of ''

Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...

''. He also presents '' Unreported World'', a foreign-affairs documentary series.

Early life

Guru-Murthy's father, an Indian consultant radiologist, worked in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

and

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. The family lived in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, then moved to a "gothic

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

" in a village outside Burnley. Guru-Murthy attended the then-private Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in

, before studying

philosophy, politics and economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate academic degree, degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in P ...

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...

Career

Guru-Murthy's career began in 1988 with the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''

DEF II DEF II was a programming strand on BBC2, which aired at 6 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 May 1988 to 23 May 1994, to serve the teenage market. It was produced by Janet Street-Porter, and followed on from her influential youth TV show '' ...

'' discussion programme ''

Open to Question Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * Open (Blues Image album), ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * Open (Gerd Dudek, Buschi Niebergall, and Edward Vesala album), ' ...

'' and the youth current-affairs programme ''Reportage''. While at Oxford University he presented BBC2's Asian current-affairs programmes ''East'' and ''Network East''. He presented and reported for children's news programme '' Newsround'' from 1991 to 1994. He worked as a producer and reporter for ''

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' is the BBC's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. It is broadcast weeknights at 10:30 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel; it is also avail ...

'' for three years, and was one of the launch presenters for BBC News 24 in 1997.

Channel 4

Guru-Murthy joined ''Channel 4 News'' in 1998 and is the programme's second-longest-serving presenter, behind Jon Snow. He was also the main presenter of ''Channel 4 News at Noon'' between 2003 and 2009. The Royal Television Society Journalism Awards nominated him for its News Presenter of the Year award in 2010 and 2014. He has hosted Channel 4's coverage of ceremonies at the 2012 Paralympics, 2014 Winter Paralympics and the reburial of

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

. He presented ''The TV Show'' and ''The Operation: Surgery Live.'' He has hosted ''The Event – How Racist are You?'', ''The Autopsy'', ''The Exorcism,'' the quiz show ''Number One'' and two series of ''Going Cold Turkey.'' Guru-Murthy moderated '' Ask the Chancellors,'' the first debate between the Chancellor of the Exchequer and his counterparts in the 2010 General Election. He also hosted ''How to save £100 Billion – Live'' the night before the new government's Emergency Budget. Guru-Murthy became Channel 4's ambassador for its foreign affairs programme '' Unreported World'' in 2011 and has made documentaries in Afghanistan, Cambodia, India, Iraq, South Africa, and Yemen. On 19 October 2022, Guru-Murthy was suspended for a week by Channel 4 after calling Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker a "cunt" in an off-air remark. Guru-Murthy later apologised "unreservedly" to Baker. Channel 4 said it has a strict code of conduct for employees and "takes any breaches seriously."

Notable interviews

Guru-Murthy's February 2010 interview with

Jim Devine James Devine (born 21 May 1953) is a former Labour Party politician in Scotland. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Livingston from 2005 until 2010 and chairman of the Scottish Labour Party between 1994 and 1995. On 16 June 2009, fol ...

became key evidence when the former Labour MP was prosecuted for expenses fraud. The politician was sentenced to sixteen months in jail. In January 2013,

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

refused to answer Guru-Murthy's question if there was a link between film violence and real-life violence. The film director's responses included: "I'm not doing this, I'm not taking the bait"; "I refuse your question. I'm not your slave and you're not my master. You can't make me dance to your tune. I'm not a monkey"; "It's none of your damn business what I think about that!" and "I'm shutting your butt down." Guru-Murthy described his October 2014 interview with

Richard Ayoade Richard Ayoade ( ; born 23 May 1977) is a British comedian, actor, writer, director and presenter. He played the role of socially awkward IT technician Maurice Moss in Channel 4 sitcom ''The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013), for which he won the 2014 Br ...

as "the perfect joke interview." Ayoade's increasingly blunt responses had reduced Guru-Murthy's colleague Jon Snow to fits of laughter off-screen. In April 2015, whilst promoting the film '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'',

Robert Downey Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965), also known as RDJ, is an American actor. One of the highest-grossing actors of all time, his films as a leading actor have grossed over $14 billion worldwide. In 2008, Downey was named by ''Time ...

walked out of an interview with Guru-Murthy after the journalist asked about the actor's relationship with his father, drug use, and

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

. The interview has been watched several million times on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. Guru-Murthy said the question areas had been discussed in advance with Downey's public relations agent and Downey was in the wrong since Channel 4 does not do "promotional interviews."

Other news media

Guru-Murthy presented a weekly radio programme on LBC 97.3 between 2003 and 2005; hosted ''UK Leaders Live'', interviewing the three main political party leaders in the UK's 2005 election; and presented the series ''Hindu Lives'' on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

in 2005. He used to write a column in the '' Metro'' newspaper and the Asian newspaper '' Eastern Eye''.

Other film and television

He has appeared on

Gordon Ramsay Gordon James Ramsay (; born ) is a British celebrity chef, restaurateur, television presenter, and writer. His restaurant group, List of restaurants owned or operated by Gordon Ramsay, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has ...

's '' The F Word'' TV show with his brother and mother as contestants. In 2001, Guru-Murthy presented the short-lived Channel 4 game show ''Number One''. Guru-Murthy has appeared in a comic documentary about the band

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...

, as a guest on '' The News Quiz'' and '' Taskmaster,'' and in cameo appearances for '' Bremner, Bird and Fortune'', '' Shaun of the Dead'' and '' Dead Set''. In August 2023, Guru-Murthy was announced as a contestant on the twenty-first series of ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

''. He was paired with professional dancer Lauren Oakley; they were the seventh couple to be eliminated.

Volunteer work

Guru-Murthy is a trustee of Duchenne UK. He founded the Duchenne Dash, a 24-hour cycle ride from London to Paris, in 2013. He was also appointed to the board of trustees of the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...

in 2018, and was reappointed for the role in 2021.

Personal life

Guru-Murthy is married and has two children. His sister is

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

journalist Geeta Guru-Murthy. His brother Ravi Guru-Murthy was formerly Chief Innovation Officer of the

International Rescue Committee The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a global humanitarian aid, relief, and development nongovernmental organization. Founded in 1933 as the International Relief Association, at the request of Albert Einstein, and changing its name in 1 ...

and is currently Chief Executive of Nesta. Guru-Murthy suffers from

Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, abdominal distension, and weight loss. Complications outside of the ...

and a genetic heart condition. He has played in a rock band with Peter Barron and the chief creative officer of Endemol UK.

References

External links

Channel 4 News profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guru-Murthy, Krishnan 1970 births Living people Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford BBC newsreaders and journalists British Hindus English male journalists English people of Indian descent ITN newsreaders and journalists National Youth Theatre members English children's television presenters People educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn People with Crohn's disease Television presenters from Liverpool