Jonathan Dimbleby: Millions tuned in midweek—and it mattered

In this episode, Jonathan Dimbleby joins Dermot Murnaghan to reflect on a career defined by the power of serious journalism. From the golden age of current affairs television to the frontlines of forgotten conflicts, Dimbleby was there when journalism reached millions and meant something.

He looks back on the moments that shaped him: the famine footage he had to smuggle out of Ethiopia, the quiet clarity of interviewing a reluctant Prince of Wales, and the long-form political encounters that held leaders to account before time limits and soundbites took over.
In this episode, Jonathan explains:

Why one of his earliest newsreading jobs ended in professional humiliation
What it was like to sit down with politicians when interviews could still challenge power
What he still sees in King Charles, decades after their landmark interview

A reminder of a time when broadcast journalism had the time, the courage and an audience that cared.

Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction and welcome
01:18 – “You soldier on”: why Dimbleby still works after 56 years
02:38 – Revisiting Palestine: the book that began in outrage
05:50 – “Never allowed to read the news again”: early career humiliation
09:30 – Smuggling out the famine: the Ethiopia report that changed everything
14:49 – Long-form interviews and holding power to account
22:46 – Rehearsing for Thatcher: how to prepare without a script
27:34 – Prince Charles: the reluctant interviewee who became King
33:41 – Chris Patten and the final days of British Hong Kong
38:30 – Putin, propaganda and the danger of weaponised histor