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Sir Robin Day (24 October 1923 – 6 August 2000) was an English political journalist and television and radio broadcaster. Day's obituary in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' by Dick Taverne stated that he was "the most outstanding television journalist of his generation. He transformed the television interview, changed the relationship between politicians and television, and strove to assert balance and rationality into the medium's treatment of current affairs".


Early life

Robin Day was born on 24 October 1923 in
Hampstead Garden Suburb Hampstead Garden Suburb is a suburb of London, north of Hampstead, west of Highgate and east of Golders Green. It is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations. It is an example of early twentieth-century ...
, London, the youngest of four children of William Day (c. 1885–c. 1948), a Post Office telephone engineer who became a GPO administrative manager, and his wife Florence. He received his early formal education at Brentwood School from 1934 to 1938, briefly attended the Crypt School,
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...
, and later Bembridge School on the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he received a commission into the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
's
Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
, with which he served from 1943. He was deployed to East Africa and saw little action. He was discharged from the British Army in 1947 with the rank of Lieutenant, and went up to
St Edmund Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall (also known as The Hall and Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university" and was the las ...
to read law. While at Oxford University, he was elected president of the
Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest unive ...
debating society, and also took part in a debating tour of the
United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...
, run by the English-Speaking Union. He was called to the Bar at
Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...
in 1952, but practised law only briefly.


Journalistic career

Day spent almost his entire working life in journalism. He rose to prominence on the new
Independent Television News Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based media production and broadcast journalism company. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, New York, Paris, Sydney and Washington, D.C. I ...
(ITN) from 1955. According to Dick Taverne, Day first came to notice by interviewing Sir
Kenneth Clark Kenneth Mackenzie Clark, Baron Clark (13 July 1903 – 21 May 1983) was a British art historian, museum director and broadcaster. His expertise covered a wide range of artists and periods, but he is particularly associated with Italian Renaissa ...
, then chairman of the regulator
Independent Television Authority The Independent Television Authority (ITA) was an agency created by the Television Act 1954 ( 2 & 3 Eliz. 2. c. 55) to supervise the creation of " Independent Television" (ITV), the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom. The ...
. The ITA had proposed to cut ITN's broadcasting hours and finances. His direct, non-deferential approach was then entirely new. Day was the first British journalist to interview
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
's President Nasser following the
Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...
. In 1958, he interviewed
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...
, in what the ''
Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...
'' called: "the most vigorous cross-examination a prime minister has been subjected to in public". The interview turned Day into a television personality and was probably the first time that British television became a serious part of the political process. He was on the staff of ITN for four years, resigning to stand at the 1959 general election as a
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
candidate for
Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...
but was not elected. Following a brief period at the ''
News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the '' Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 b ...
'', he moved to the BBC. He was a regular fixture on all BBC general election night programmes from the 1960s until 1987. On television, he presented ''
Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...
'' and chaired '' Question Time'' (1979–89). His incisive and sometimes – by the standards of the day – abrasive interviewing style, together with his heavy-rimmed spectacles and trademark
bow tie The bow tie or dicky bow is a type of neckwear, distinguishable from a necktie because it does not drape down the shirt placket, but is tied just underneath a winged collar. A modern bow tie is tied using a common shoelace knot, which is also ...
, made him an instantly recognisable and frequently impersonated figure over five decades. In the early 1970s, Day worked on
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
, where he proved an innovator with ''
It's Your Line English auxiliary verbs are a small set of English verbs, which include the English modal auxiliary verbs and a few others. Although the auxiliary verbs of English are widely believed to lack inherent semantic meaning and instead to modify the ...
'' (1970–76). This was a national phone-in programme that enabled ordinary people, for the first time, to put questions directly to the prime minister and other politicians (it later spawned ''Election Call''). He also presented ''
The World at One ''The World at One'' (or ''WATO'', pronounced "what-oh") is BBC Radio 4's long-running lunchtime news and current affairs radio programme, broadcast weekdays from 13:00 to 13:45 and produced by BBC News. The programme describes itself as "Bri ...
'' from 1979 to 1987. In the 1981 New Year Honours, he was
knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
for his services to broadcasting. He became known in British broadcasting as "the Grand Inquisitor" for his abrasive interviewing of politicians, a style out of keeping with the British media's habitual deference to authority in the early days of his career. In October 1982, during a ''
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 ...
'' interview with the
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also known as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence. As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the ...
John Nott Sir John William Frederic Nott (1 February 1932 – 6 November 2024) was a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 1981 to 1983 (during the Falklands War). A member of the National Liberal (until 1968) and Conserva ...
, pursuing cuts in defence expenditure, in particular
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
, Day posed the question: "Why should the public on this issue believe you, a transient, here today and, if I may say so, gone tomorrow politician rather than a senior officer of many years' experience?" Nott, who had announced he was to retire at the next general election, removed his own microphone and walked off the set. Nott's autobiography in 2003 was called ''Here Today Gone Tomorrow: Recollections of an Errant Politician'' in reference to the incident. After leaving ''Question Time'', Day moved to the new satellite service BSB, where he presented the weekly political discussion programme ''
Now Sir Robin Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Na ...
''. When BSB merged with Sky Television, the programme continued to be broadcast on
Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...
for a while. During the 1992 general election campaign, he returned to the BBC to host round table discussions with senior politicians on BBC Breakfast News and he also conducted long-form interviews with all three main party leaders for ITV as part of the
Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...
programme This Week. On the night of the 1992 general election itself, Day resumed his role as interviewer, this time on ITN's general election night coverage, broadcast on ITV. During the mid-1990s, he regularly contributed to the lunchtime
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
political programme ''Around the House'' and presented ''Central Lobby'' for Central, the ITV franchise in the Midlands. That show was sometimes aired at the same time as his old programme ''Question Time'' was being broadcast by the BBC. For 25 years, he campaigned tirelessly, and eventually successfully, for the televising of Parliament – not in the interests of television, but of Parliament itself. He claimed that he was the first to present the detailed arguments in favour, in a
Hansard Society The Hansard Society was formed in the United Kingdom in 1944 to promote parliamentary democracy. Founded and chaired by Commander Stephen King-Hall, the first subscribers were Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee. The society's co-presidents a ...
paper in 1963. ''
Monty Python's Flying Circus ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal humour, surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam, w ...
'' often referred to Day – for example, in the "Eddie Baby" sketch, in which
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
turns to the camera and states: "Robin Day's got a hedgehog called Frank." In another sketch,
Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, songwriter, musician, screenwriter and playwright. He was a member of the British comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band the Rutles. Idle studied English at Pembroke Co ...
said that he was able to return his "Robin Day tie" to
Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...
. Day was also spoofed (as "Robin Yad") on '' The Goodies''' episode " Saturday Night Grease". Day appeared as himself on an installment of the
Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew; 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman; 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working ...
show, in which he berates
Ernie Wise Ernest Wiseman (27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known by his stage name Ernie Wise, was an English comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, who became a national institution on British television, especially f ...
in character. Then
Eric Morecambe John Eric Bartholomew (14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984), known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's de ...
, acting as a TV presenter, says: "Sadly, we've come to the end of today's 'Friendly Discussion with Robin Day'." Day was also frequently lampooned by the satirical TV programme ''
Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ...
''. In this, he would frequently be shown interviewing then-prime minister
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
, who would always give answers somewhat unrelated to the question. The breathing difficulties that affected him later in life were represented: "My name is Robin (deep breath) Day." His last regular TV work was ''Robin Day's Book Talk'', which aired in the early days of
BBC News 24 The BBC News channel is a British free-to-air Public broadcasting, public broadcast television news channel owned and operated by the BBC. The channel is based at and broadcasts from Broadcasting House in the West End of London, West End of ...
in around 1998. The programme featured interviews and discussions about books, broadly around a political theme. On occasions, it took the form of a one-on-one interview, while on other occasions it consisted of a panel discussion.


Autobiographies

Day's two autobiographies were entitled ''Day by Day'' (1975) and ''Grand Inquisitor'' (1989).


Death

Day died from heart complications, aged 76, on the evening of 6 August 2000, at the Wellington Hospital in London. A funeral service was held at the chapel of Mortlake Crematorium, where his body was cremated. His ashes were buried in a grave near the south door of the
Church of St Candida and Holy Cross The Church of St Candida and Holy Cross is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Whitchurch Canonicorum, Dorset, England. A Anglo-Saxon architecture, Saxon church stood on the site but nothing remains of that structure. The earliest parts of the chu ...
, at
Whitchurch Canonicorum Whitchurch Canonicorum () is a village and civil parish in southwest Dorset, England, situated in the Marshwood Vale west-northwest of Bridport. In the 2011 Census the parish – which includes the settlements of Morcombelake, Ryall and Fis ...
in the county of
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
. The grave's memorial stone bears the words: "In loving memory of Sir Robin Day – The Grand Inquisitor".


Personal life

In 1965, Day married Katherine Ainslie, an Australian law don at
St Anne's College, Oxford St Anne's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 and gained full college status in 1959. Originally a women's college, it has admitted men since 1979. ...
; the couple had two sons. The marriage was dissolved in 1986. Day's elder son suffered multiple skull fractures in a childhood fall, and never fully recovered. In the 1980s, Day had a coronary bypass, and he suffered from breathing problems that were often evident when he was on the air. He had always fought against a tendency to put on weight. As an undergraduate, he weighed , and claimed that, in the course of his life, he had succeeded in losing more weight than any other person. The broadcaster Joan Bakewell recalled that, while Day was professional when in the office, he was disrespectful towards female newsreaders: "Socially he was a menace. There was no subtlety in his manner: at office parties he would attack head on. 'Do the men you interview fancy you? Do they stare at your legs? Do they stare at your breasts? Do you sleep with many of them?' ... Whenever he loomed in sight, I made myself scarce." Bakewell, Joan, ''The Centre of the Bed: An Autobiography'', 2003, Sceptre, pp. 234–5, .


Publications

* ''Television: A Personal Report'' (1961) * ''Day by Day: A Dose of My Own Hemlock'' (1975) (autobiography) * ''The Media and Political Violence'', by Richard Clutterbuck (1983; Day wrote the foreword) * ''The Grand Inquisitor'' (1989) (autobiography) * ''... But with Respect'' (1993) (interview transcripts) * ''Speaking for Myself'' (1999) (collection of speeches)


In popular culture

Day is portrayed by
Bertie Carvel Robert Hugh Carvel (born 6 September 1977) is a British film and theatre actor. He has twice won a Laurence Olivier Award: for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his role as Miss Trunchbull in '' Matilda the Musical'', and for Best ...
in the episode "
Marionettes A marionette ( ; ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by ...
" in season 2 of the
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
series ''
The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
''. He was parodied in
The Goodies The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940 – 12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their The Goodies (TV series), ...
episode " Saturday Night Grease" in 1980. He was referenced in Monty Pythons Flying Circus in the “It’s the Arts” sketch, where according to
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
, he “had a hedgehog called Frank”. The version of the sketch 1971 film adaption And Now for Something Completely Different changed Day to
President Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...
.


References


External links

*
Sir Robin Day: 1923–2000
from 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 ...

Tributes
from the BBC {{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Robin 1923 births 2000 deaths 20th-century British journalists 20th-century English memoirists Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford BBC newsreaders and journalists British Army personnel of World War II British reporters and correspondents English autobiographers English television presenters ITN newsreaders and journalists Knights Bachelor Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People educated at Bembridge School People educated at Brentwood School, Essex People educated at The Crypt School, Gloucester Presidents of the Oxford Union Royal Artillery officers