Today marked James Naughtie’s last day in the presenting chair on Today after 21 years. To honour his time as a presenter on the programme, John Humphrys played some of his highlights from over the years, before asking Naughtie to recall the parts of his job that he did not enjoy.
The Scottish presenter responded by referring to his now infamous Jeremy Hunt gaffe in 2010, which saw Naughtie’s introduction to an interview with the then Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt go disastrously wrong when he mispronounced his name. Naughtie ended up saying ‘c–t’ instead of Hunt:
‘Things I haven’t enjoyed? Oh, getting things wrong. I can’t remember who the Culture Secretary is at the moment but anyway.’
Although Naughtie says the incident was a career lowlight, he can at least take heart that Jeremy Hunt now sees the funny side. The Health Minister tweeted his respects to Naughtie today, thanking him for his services on Today — and for conducting his ‘most memorable interview ever’.
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