LEGENDS OF NEWS with DERMOT MURNAGHAN

Adam Boulton looks back on a career spent covering British politics at the highest level, from TV-am’s chaotic early days to three decades at Sky News.
He recalls interviewing Margaret Thatcher and meeting figures including Ted Heath, Jim Callaghan, Harold Wilson and Alec Douglas-Home, plus the rough-and-ready reality of political reporting when “there were no barriers outside Number 10”.
Adam charts his route into journalism via Washington, the BBC World Service, and the early promise — and panic — of TV-am, where he became political editor in his mid-20s.
At Sky News, Adam explains why impartiality mattered to him, why he says he never faced editorial interference from Rupert Murdoch, and how he helped build a Westminster operation designed to go live fast and report what was known as events unfolded.
He discusses the fall of the Berlin Wall, the rise of spin and special advisers, and why he believes political access has tightened over time.
Adam and Dermot also revisit the 2010 leaders’ debates — how they were secured, the “empty chair” threat, and what Adam thinks they achieved — before returning to the hung parliament and his notorious on-air row with Alastair Campbell.
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Dermot brings you an end-of-year selection box of standout moments from Legends of News, a small sample of the stories that defined the podcast’s first year, including:
• John Sergeant on Margaret Thatcher, the RAF flight to Moscow, spilled crockery and a legendary live on-air encounter
• Natasha Kaplinsky OBE on the BBC Breakfast call-up, life on the sofa and the hierarchy written into contract
• Sir Trevor McDonald on Air Force One, American presidents and why listening matters more than confrontation
• Nick Owen MBE on prostate cancer, the decision to go public and the impact of speaking out
• Selena Scott on Princess Diana behind the scenes, press pressure and candid encounters with the future King
• Julia Somerville on ITN, News at Ten and returning to screen after major brain surgery

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Julia Somerville charts the hard yards of reporting her way up through smoke-filled newsrooms to become one of the few female faces to read the news in the 1970s and 80s.

She recalls landing the Nine O'clock News, the rigid BBC presenter culture, and the liberating move to ITN. Along the way come the defining moments: covering Thatcher’s rise, watching the Berlin Wall fall live on News at Ten, and presenting 9/11 live on LBC.

Julia and Dermot also relive their own News at Ten and lunchtime-news years together, including the days after Diana’s death. Julia reflects on privacy, tabloid intrusion, her work with the Government Art Collection, and why returning to the BBC to front Rip Off Britain has felt like coming home.

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Nick Robinson, one of Britain’s most recognisable broadcasters and political journalists, joins Dermot Murnaghan to look back over a career that began at Piccadilly Radio and led him to the BBC’s Today programme.

He talks about the early inspirations that led him into journalism, the personal tragedy he had to overcome, and the moments that have defined his decades on the political frontline.

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@DermotMurnaghan

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A Sassy+ original podcast series

Martha Kearney, one of Britain’s most respected political journalists, joins Dermot Murnaghan to reflect on a career that’s taken her from the phones at LBC to the BBC’s Today programme. She talks about covering elections from the battle bus, reporting through the peace process in Northern Ireland, and interviewing leaders from Thatcher to Blair.
Martha recalls the chaos of early commercial radio, the moment Margaret Thatcher turned on her, and the brutal 3am starts that came with fronting Britain’s flagship news show. She reflects on how politics, journalism, and public trust have changed — and what it still means to hold power to account.

Follow Dermot:
@DermotMurnaghan
Instagram: @legendsofnewspodcast
X: @LegendsofNews

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LinkedIn: in/sassy plus/
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