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| Newsnight's Evan Davis: 'It could all go wrong, but it'll at least be an adventure' | Newsnight's Evan Davis: 'It could all go wrong, but it'll at least be an adventure' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Evan Davis is the new star presenter of BBC2's Newsnight – but it almost didn't happen. So attached has Davis grown to Today on Radio 4, which he has co-presented for the past six years, that he spent "the most uncomfortable week agonising" about whether he should stay or go. | Evan Davis is the new star presenter of BBC2's Newsnight – but it almost didn't happen. So attached has Davis grown to Today on Radio 4, which he has co-presented for the past six years, that he spent "the most uncomfortable week agonising" about whether he should stay or go. |
| Appropriately for a presenter steeped in statistics, the BBC's erstwhile economics editor drew up a cost-benefit analysis weighing up the pros and cons of replacing Jeremy Paxman as Newsnight's lead anchor, to little effect. | Appropriately for a presenter steeped in statistics, the BBC's erstwhile economics editor drew up a cost-benefit analysis weighing up the pros and cons of replacing Jeremy Paxman as Newsnight's lead anchor, to little effect. |
| But when BBC director general Tony Hall came knocking – Hall has committed himself to restoring the flagging BBC2 show to its former glories and became personally involved in the search for a new presenter – it is a call that he found impossible to resist. | But when BBC director general Tony Hall came knocking – Hall has committed himself to restoring the flagging BBC2 show to its former glories and became personally involved in the search for a new presenter – it is a call that he found impossible to resist. |
| "I never envisaged departing so soon … it will be quite a wrench to move on," Davis told his Today colleagues in an email last week. | "I never envisaged departing so soon … it will be quite a wrench to move on," Davis told his Today colleagues in an email last week. |
| "In truth, it became pretty clear to me that the big bosses wanted me to take the job at Newsnight and … it seemed best to do what the paymasters wanted. It could all go wrong, but it will at least be an adventure." | |
| Davis, who will join Newsnight in the autumn, was one of four or five serious contenders to succeed Paxman including his Radio 4 colleague, PM presenter Eddie Mair, who is said to have been approached about the job but decided to turn it down. | Davis, who will join Newsnight in the autumn, was one of four or five serious contenders to succeed Paxman including his Radio 4 colleague, PM presenter Eddie Mair, who is said to have been approached about the job but decided to turn it down. |
| Newsnight is not the broadcasting beacon it was, its fortunes already in decline before its failings over the Jimmy Savile scandal and the subsequent disastrous McAlpine report two years ago, which plunged the BBC into crisis and almost led to Newsnight being axed. | |
| Still very much in recovery, the programme does not attract the heavy hitters it once did, nor the million-plus audiences it had when Davis was its economics editor a decade and a half ago. | Still very much in recovery, the programme does not attract the heavy hitters it once did, nor the million-plus audiences it had when Davis was its economics editor a decade and a half ago. |
| Back then Paxman mercilessly ribbed the youthful Davis – dubbing him Tigger – but recognised his courage to "tell people from the chancellor downwards when they're talking bollocks". | Back then Paxman mercilessly ribbed the youthful Davis – dubbing him Tigger – but recognised his courage to "tell people from the chancellor downwards when they're talking bollocks". |
| "He has a real serious pedigree as an economist but he wears his knowledge very lightly," says Martha Kearney, presenter of Radio 4's World at One and Davis's contemporary on Newsnight, when she was its political editor. | "He has a real serious pedigree as an economist but he wears his knowledge very lightly," says Martha Kearney, presenter of Radio 4's World at One and Davis's contemporary on Newsnight, when she was its political editor. |
| "He's very good at making complicated subjects sound clear; he doesn't baffle you. He used to say to me that the one thing he is very good at is knowing what stuff to leave out." | "He's very good at making complicated subjects sound clear; he doesn't baffle you. He used to say to me that the one thing he is very good at is knowing what stuff to leave out." |
| Davis is described by Kearney as "mischievous, impish, never pompous, with a great lightness of touch" and has been credited with bringing a fresher tone to the previously rather staid Today. "It will sound much posher when he leaves," says one BBC journalist. | Davis is described by Kearney as "mischievous, impish, never pompous, with a great lightness of touch" and has been credited with bringing a fresher tone to the previously rather staid Today. "It will sound much posher when he leaves," says one BBC journalist. |
| Davis almost refused the Today job as well, initially resisting because of the unsociable hours. When he relented, in 2008, it was under the mistaken impression he would only be on the programme for a year. | Davis almost refused the Today job as well, initially resisting because of the unsociable hours. When he relented, in 2008, it was under the mistaken impression he would only be on the programme for a year. |
| By then he was a familiar face on TV as the BBC's economics editor, succeeding his mentor Peter Jay in 2001, and as presenter of BBC2 business show, Dragons' Den (the next series is already recorded, but his future participation is in doubt). | |
| His penchant for pinstripe trousers, Cuban heels and chunky jewellery meant Davis stood out from his fellow BBC correspondents, as did the rumours of tattoos, pierced nipples (office nickname: Tinsel Tits) and a Prince Albert, which he has consistently refused to confirm or deny. | His penchant for pinstripe trousers, Cuban heels and chunky jewellery meant Davis stood out from his fellow BBC correspondents, as did the rumours of tattoos, pierced nipples (office nickname: Tinsel Tits) and a Prince Albert, which he has consistently refused to confirm or deny. |
| "If I confirm it, it's nobody's business," he has said. "And if I deny it, it's nobody's business. The only correct way to deal with it is to say: no comment." | "If I confirm it, it's nobody's business," he has said. "And if I deny it, it's nobody's business. The only correct way to deal with it is to say: no comment." |
| One of the BBC's most prominent gay figures, he is regularly close to the top of lists of the most influential gay and lesbian people in the UK. Having initially been "tortured" by the realisation that he was gay, he came out to his parents after university, and more publicly in a Gay Times interview when he first joined Newsnight in 1997. | One of the BBC's most prominent gay figures, he is regularly close to the top of lists of the most influential gay and lesbian people in the UK. Having initially been "tortured" by the realisation that he was gay, he came out to his parents after university, and more publicly in a Gay Times interview when he first joined Newsnight in 1997. |
| "I want to be a seen as a journalist who happens to be gay rather than a gay journalist," he has said. "I'm not at all embarrassed about being gay, it's just that I don't particularly want the first or only thing that people associate me with to be that I'm gay." | "I want to be a seen as a journalist who happens to be gay rather than a gay journalist," he has said. "I'm not at all embarrassed about being gay, it's just that I don't particularly want the first or only thing that people associate me with to be that I'm gay." |
| The presenter entered into a civil partnership with his long-term partner, French landscape architect Guillaume Baltz, last year, celebrating with a party at their country retreat in Normandy attended by many of his BBC colleagues. | The presenter entered into a civil partnership with his long-term partner, French landscape architect Guillaume Baltz, last year, celebrating with a party at their country retreat in Normandy attended by many of his BBC colleagues. |
| "It was just the loveliest day and in many ways symbolic of Evan and their relationship; it was very laid back and loving," recalls one guest. | "It was just the loveliest day and in many ways symbolic of Evan and their relationship; it was very laid back and loving," recalls one guest. |
| Born in 1962, the son of South African immigrants, comprehensive school-educated Davis studied PPE at St John's College, Oxford, where he was an active member of the SDP, and later did a masters in public administration at Harvard. | Born in 1962, the son of South African immigrants, comprehensive school-educated Davis studied PPE at St John's College, Oxford, where he was an active member of the SDP, and later did a masters in public administration at Harvard. |
| He has said he felt out of his depth at Oxford (contemporaries included former Lib Dem MP Matthew Taylor and Labour peer Andrew Adonis) but he edited the student paper, Cherwell. | He has said he felt out of his depth at Oxford (contemporaries included former Lib Dem MP Matthew Taylor and Labour peer Andrew Adonis) but he edited the student paper, Cherwell. |
| He worked for the Institute of Fiscal Studies – where he once modelled the impact of the poll tax for the government – and the London Business School. But like a true economist he saw it as an investment for what he really wanted to do – journalism, switching to the BBC in 1993 as economics correspondent. | He worked for the Institute of Fiscal Studies – where he once modelled the impact of the poll tax for the government – and the London Business School. But like a true economist he saw it as an investment for what he really wanted to do – journalism, switching to the BBC in 1993 as economics correspondent. |
| He does not regard himself as someone who finds stories – press him and he will be hard pushed to come up with a single scoop – but as someone who makes complex issues understandable. | He does not regard himself as someone who finds stories – press him and he will be hard pushed to come up with a single scoop – but as someone who makes complex issues understandable. |
| "He does numbers big time, and that is not necessarily the BBC's or anyone else's strength," says Mark Damazer, who was controller of Radio 4 when Davis joined Today. "His use of statistics is unrivalled; he is a better interviewer than anyone currently doing it in TV or radio. He is very, very clever, delightful company and a tremendous human being." | "He does numbers big time, and that is not necessarily the BBC's or anyone else's strength," says Mark Damazer, who was controller of Radio 4 when Davis joined Today. "His use of statistics is unrivalled; he is a better interviewer than anyone currently doing it in TV or radio. He is very, very clever, delightful company and a tremendous human being." |
| It will be to Davis's advantage on Newsnight that his approach is so different from Paxman's, discouraging the inevitable comparisons between the two. | |
| Jamie Angus, his editor on Today for the past nine months who did his utmost to persuade Davis to stay, says: "Whereas Jeremy has that oft-quoted line, 'why is this liar lying to me?', Evan tends to proceed from a much more reasonable starting point. It's a different place intellectually, a curiosity about the topic. Could this interviewee help the audience understand this subject clearly?" | Jamie Angus, his editor on Today for the past nine months who did his utmost to persuade Davis to stay, says: "Whereas Jeremy has that oft-quoted line, 'why is this liar lying to me?', Evan tends to proceed from a much more reasonable starting point. It's a different place intellectually, a curiosity about the topic. Could this interviewee help the audience understand this subject clearly?" |
| Nevertheless Davis, who was accused of being too soft when he first joined Today, prompted the wrath of Downing Street two years ago for his repeated interruptions during an interview with George Osborne, telling the chancellor: "We're wasting our time, let's move on." An interview with Iain Duncan Smith this year prompted similar complaints. | |
| "One of Evan's few weaknesses is where his own intelligence can lead him to get tetchy with the interviewee," says Angus. "Evan can get exasperated if the interviewee doesn't see the world in the very clear way that Evan sees it in his head. It can make him tetchy, and the interviewee responded in a similar way." | "One of Evan's few weaknesses is where his own intelligence can lead him to get tetchy with the interviewee," says Angus. "Evan can get exasperated if the interviewee doesn't see the world in the very clear way that Evan sees it in his head. It can make him tetchy, and the interviewee responded in a similar way." |
| One criticism, say people who have worked with him, is a perceived lack of empathy. "Evan's interest is in ideas, concepts, theories, and it's difficult to translate that to real people sometimes," says one. "If he's not interested in a subject, say, popular culture stuff, it's quite obvious," says another. Angus disagrees. "I don't think he is aloof at all," says the Today editor. | One criticism, say people who have worked with him, is a perceived lack of empathy. "Evan's interest is in ideas, concepts, theories, and it's difficult to translate that to real people sometimes," says one. "If he's not interested in a subject, say, popular culture stuff, it's quite obvious," says another. Angus disagrees. "I don't think he is aloof at all," says the Today editor. |
| Newsnight editor Ian Katz, a former Guardian deputy editor who took charge last year, said on Davis's appointment that he had that "rare combination of curiosity, intelligence and mischief to his broadcasting – just the qualities I want Newsnight to be known for". | Newsnight editor Ian Katz, a former Guardian deputy editor who took charge last year, said on Davis's appointment that he had that "rare combination of curiosity, intelligence and mischief to his broadcasting – just the qualities I want Newsnight to be known for". |
| Today presenter John Humphrys says: "He's a delight to work with and unpredictable in the best sense because you never quite know what he's going to say. That's good in a live programme; people want to be surprised." | Today presenter John Humphrys says: "He's a delight to work with and unpredictable in the best sense because you never quite know what he's going to say. That's good in a live programme; people want to be surprised." |
| The scrutiny of Newsnight, which Hall has described as one of the BBC's most important programmes, will be intense. How it thrives and builds a new identity in the digital age remains a work in progress. | |
| Davis will also have to justify his "head boy" billing, presenting three days a week, after he was elevated above the programme's three incumbent female anchors, Kirsty Wark, Emily Maitlis and Laura Kuenssberg, at a time when Hall has said he wants to put more women on screen. | Davis will also have to justify his "head boy" billing, presenting three days a week, after he was elevated above the programme's three incumbent female anchors, Kirsty Wark, Emily Maitlis and Laura Kuenssberg, at a time when Hall has said he wants to put more women on screen. |
| The programme had an average nightly audience of 590,100 in the eight months to the end of April this year, down 5% on the same period a year earlier. Today has a weekly reach of more than 7 million. | The programme had an average nightly audience of 590,100 in the eight months to the end of April this year, down 5% on the same period a year earlier. Today has a weekly reach of more than 7 million. |
| Another Today presenter, Sarah Montague, says: "He was a breath of fresh air, a cool blast of logic, and I'm very sad he's going. He has a way of thinking that is slightly leftfield; he will invariably ask a question that will have you thinking, 'why didn't I think of that?'" | Another Today presenter, Sarah Montague, says: "He was a breath of fresh air, a cool blast of logic, and I'm very sad he's going. He has a way of thinking that is slightly leftfield; he will invariably ask a question that will have you thinking, 'why didn't I think of that?'" |
| In his farewell email to colleagues, Davis said that "in all the discussions I had about the move – with people from the DG down – the general view was that Today is in extremely strong shape. They don't seem to have any worries about it at all, which I expect can't be said of all parts of the [BBC] news empire." | In his farewell email to colleagues, Davis said that "in all the discussions I had about the move – with people from the DG down – the general view was that Today is in extremely strong shape. They don't seem to have any worries about it at all, which I expect can't be said of all parts of the [BBC] news empire." |
| In a postscript, he conceded that not everyone was happy with his move. "Mr Whippy is gutted," he said, a reference to his beloved pet whippet who appeared in a series of Today videos attempting (and largely failing) to predict the World Cup. "He was hoping for some more media work and feels Newsnight will not play to his strengths." Davis will be hoping it plays to his strengths instead. | In a postscript, he conceded that not everyone was happy with his move. "Mr Whippy is gutted," he said, a reference to his beloved pet whippet who appeared in a series of Today videos attempting (and largely failing) to predict the World Cup. "He was hoping for some more media work and feels Newsnight will not play to his strengths." Davis will be hoping it plays to his strengths instead. |