Veteran newsreader Clive Myrie has told however helium avoided being pigeonholed successful his vocation by refusing to study connected the Notting Hill Carnival.
He insisted to BBC bosses successful 1994 that helium did not privation to beryllium seen arsenic 'a achromatic reporter', but 'a newsman who conscionable happens to beryllium black'.
Speaking astatine the Hay lit festival yesterday, Myrie, 59, said: 'There was treatment successful the newsroom [about] who was going to screen Notting Hill Carnival and I thought, "Hang connected a minute, you ain't sending the 1 achromatic guy".
'I'm not going to let the BBC to dictate my vocation erstwhile I'm conscionable starting out. I didn't privation the nationalist to deliberation I was lone covering it due to the fact that I was achromatic and that was each I could do.
'I made it wide it wasn't going to beryllium me… I don't privation lazy reasoning from the BBC that achromatic storytelling is riots – I didn't privation the BBC to beryllium of that mindset.'
In 2021, the Bolton-born presenter of Jamaican descent was offered a prestigious relation arsenic the presenter of Mastermind erstwhile John Humphrys, the show's big of 18 years, retired.
Veteran newsreader Clive Myrie (pictured, astatine the Hay Festival connected Saturday) has told however helium avoided being pigeonholed successful his vocation by refusing to study connected the Notting Hill Carnival
Speaking astatine the Hay lit festival yesterday, Myrie, 59, said: 'There was treatment successful the newsroom [about] who was going to screen Notting Hill Carnival and I thought, "Hang connected a minute, you ain't sending the 1 achromatic guy" ' (pictured: Notting Hill Carnival successful 2016)
'I was very, precise scared,' Myrie said. 'I didn't realise however large of a woody it was… I walked into the newsroom and [newsreader] George Alagaih took maine to 1 broadside and said, "Do you cognize however important it is that the BBC is consenting to springiness 1 of its crown jewels to a idiosyncratic of colour?" '
Myrie added that his parents, who are of the Windrush generation, did not forgive him for becoming a writer until helium was chosen arsenic question master.
'They wanted maine to bash the close thing, truthful I studied instrumentality and got a spot to go a barrister. But astatine the aforesaid time, I got an connection from the BBC to articulation them, and the remainder is history,' helium said.
The broadcaster, who has been joined to woman Catherine for 26 years, besides said that if they had ever had children helium would person raised them successful the UK.
'We person present a Hindi premier curate and had a Buddhist location caput successful Suella Braverman… the lone spot I would privation to bring up my kids is here, due to the fact that it's truthful multicultural.'
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