1. Gavin William James Esler was born on 27 February 1953 and is a Scottish journalist, television presenter and author.
34 Facts About Gavin Esler
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Gavin Esler was a main presenter on BBC Two's flagship political analysis programme, Newsnight, from January 2003 until January 2014, and presenter of BBC News at Five on the BBC News Channel.
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On 11 March 2017, Esler confirmed via his Twitter profile that he would be leaving the BBC at the end of the month to concentrate on his writing activities.
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Gavin Esler returned to the BBC later that year as host of Talking Books.
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Gavin Esler stood unsuccessfully as a candidate for Change UK in London at the 2019 European Parliament election.
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Gavin Esler was born in Glasgow on 27 February 1953, the first son born to a manager of a building company.
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Gavin Esler had an operation at just three weeks old.
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Gavin Esler's family lived in Clydebank before they moved to Edinburgh, where he began his education at Duddingston Primary School before gaining a scholarship to George Heriot's School at the age of seven.
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Gavin Esler's parents moved to Northern Ireland but he remained in Edinburgh.
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Gavin Esler was the first in his family to go to university, graduating at the University of Kent with a BA in English and American literature in 1974.
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Gavin Esler then gained an MA in Anglo-Irish literature with distinction from the University of Leeds.
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Gavin Esler began working as a journalist in 1976, aged 23, as a junior reporter with the Belfast Telegraph.
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Gavin Esler joined the BBC in 1977 as Northern Ireland reporter, working under Bernard Cornwell, and extended his role after joining Newsnight in 1982.
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Gavin Esler was appointed Washington correspondent in 1989 and then, a year later, became the BBC's chief North America correspondent.
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Gavin Esler has reported for news and documentary programmes across Europe, Russia, China and North and South America.
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Gavin Esler worked as an anchor on the BBC News channel from its outset in 1997 and co-presented its prime-time slot with Sian Williams for several years.
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Gavin Esler has interviewed a wide range of cultural figures, including Dolly Parton, Doris Lessing, Penelope Cruz, Angelina Jolie, V S Naipaul, Roger Waters, Vikram Seth and Seamus Heaney.
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Gavin Esler left Newsnight in January 2014, and was replaced by Laura Kuenssberg.
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In 2005, Gavin Esler interviewed George Galloway on Newsnight about the London bombings.
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Until 2017, Gavin Esler was the main presenter of Dateline London on BBC News and BBC World News most Sunday mornings at 11 am.
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Gavin Esler has hosted BBC Radio 4 factual series Four Corners along with fellow Scottish broadcaster Anne MacKenzie.
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Gavin Esler had a regular slot on Saturdays and Sundays, working across BBC World, BBC News and BBC One, and co-presented the regular Film Review with Mark Kermode.
23.
On 11 March 2017, Gavin Esler confirmed via his Twitter profile that he would be leaving the BBC to concentrate on his writing activities.
24.
Gavin Esler returned on 31 March 2017 to present his final BBC News at Five and Film Review.
25.
Gavin Esler returned to the BBC later that year as host of Talking Books.
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Since 2021 Gavin Esler has been a regular presenter and contributor to the political podcast The Bunker.
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Gavin Esler is the author of five novels and four non-fiction books.
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Gavin Esler has criticised the way the BBC and other TV and radio news has handled balance.
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Gavin Esler criticises giving equal balance to "someone who really knows what they are talking about" and "someone who is essentially the village idiot".
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Gavin Esler has been married to rock violinist Anna Phoebe, his second wife, since 2012.
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Gavin Esler was first married in July 1979, to teacher Patricia Warner, and they had two children together.
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Gavin Esler is a fan of progressive rock, citing King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Colosseum and Pink Floyd as favourite bands, and presented Prog magazine's Progressive Music Awards for three consecutive years between September 2012 and 2014.
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Gavin Esler has received two honorary degrees from the University of Kent: an honorary MA was awarded in 1995, followed by an honorary Doctorate in Civil Law in 2005.
34.
Gavin Esler was installed as the sixth Chancellor of the university in July 2014.