End of an Era: Paxman’s wins and losses

As Jeremy Paxman prepares for his swan song performance on Newsnight tonight by jumping on Boris Johnson’s bicycling bandwagon, we’ve had a look at some of the pugilist’s bloodiest encounters.

LOST vs. Jerry Springer

Paxman might be a heavy-hitter but Jerry Springer is not known for his cowardice. The two heavy weights went at it in this debate over whether the poor should be televised for the entertainment of the masses in the aftermath of Channel 4’s ‘Benefits Street’. If one man could silence Jeremy Paxman, it was always going to be Jerry Springer.

WIN vs. Michael Howard

This infamous grilling of the then Conservative Home Secretary, Michael Howard, in May 1997 saw the veteran newscaster smelt blood and repeatedly ask his faltering guest the same question 12 times. As Howard flustered, Paxman persisted and although he didn’t get what he was after it did make for a very awkward silence.

WIN vs. Chloe Smith

The sacrificial lamb of the coalition government, Chloe Smith was no match for a rampant Paxman at the top of his game. It took him a little over 10 minutes to ruin her career as a government prodigy; she quickly fell from grace, lost her place as an Economic Secretary to the Treasury and is expected to lose her seat at the next election.

LOST vs. Russell Brand

Paxman’s logic is usually undeniable but Brand’s anarchic and revolutionary sentiments proved too much for the BBC’s grey-haired attack dog. The interview became a viral sensation and Brand the face of an anti-establishment youth movement that pitied Paxman’s reaction to Brand’s shock and awe.

WIN vs. The Weather

Never one to hide his feelings, Paxman made it clear that the art of meteorology wasn’t welcome on his show with a report so disparaging it even won praise from Private Eye’s editor of sarcasm-in-chief, Ian Hislop.

LOST vs. Iceland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2VuElk5_Bg

The President of Iceland may have looked harmless to the ever-forthright Paxman but he proved quite a handful for the BBC personality. Rarely has Paxman been so politely and calmly dismissed, Iceland’s charismatic premier called him out on exaggeration and fought his fire with a large douse of wisdom.

WIN vs. Conrad Black

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBI35DMHjy4

Although Paxman was harsh on many of his subjects, it was rare to see him express an active dislike of any Newsnight guest. Not so in the case of Conrad Black, the American businessman shrouded in criminal controversy, who was repeatedly called out by Paxman for being a “crook”. Needless to say, Black wasn’t best pleased.