Kirsty Wark's life off screen from rarely-seen husband to actor son
Kirsty Wark will be awarded a BAFTA Fellowship for her exceptional contribution to television at the The BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises at London's Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall on May 11. The prestigious event is set to be broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer and will see the Scottish born journalist accept the honour.
Kirsty, 70, was born on February 3 1955 in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, and is well known for her career in broadcast journalism. She is married to television producer Alan Clements with whom she tied the knot in 1990.
Kirsty and Alan share two children and live in Glasgow. She has previously been honoured for her work when she received the Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting accolade at the 2013 British Academy Scotland Awards.
The couple saw their home become a work hub not just for them but for their children - Caitlin, 35, a TV executive, and James, 33, who works as an actor - when COVID pushed them all to stick under one roof. At the time Kirsty discussed what it was like to suddenly have a full home again with all the family in it.
She also happily discussed their differing careers while talking to The Sunday Post. She said: 'The house is full – there are five of us here, all working away, my husband is running his media companies, with his staff all working from their homes.
'My daughter is usually in London, she's a development researcher for Eon Entertainment, and my son runs a theatre company in New York, so he's here doing some teaching, writing, doing courses and planning productions. We're not sure when he'll get back to America. And my daughter's fiancee, who is a civil servant, is also working from here."
Kirsty hosted Newsnight for 31 years between 1993 and 2024 when she stepped down from her role after the general election coverage ended. She first joined the BBC in 1976 as a graduate researcher for Radio Scotland.
Following the announcement of her departure from Newsnight Kirsty hit out at BBC execs over cost-cuts on the show that led to the change. Speaking to Emma Barnett on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, Kirsty addressed the broadcaster's decision to make cuts to BBC Two's Newsnight. She said: 'It was really a tough time for everybody.
"In this world, it's all about the brand and Newsnight is a massive brand for BBC Two. Especially in an election year, every single night we will interrogate what is going to be a critical election.
"So, it's not about killing it," Kirsty said before adding: "Some people wanted to kill it maybe. But, lots of people didn't want to kill it and I think whatever happens down the line, it's going to be in hale and hearty health. We won't have some of our best editors, but we will still have Nick Watt running up to an election."
Kirsty admitted that she would not have made the same decision as the broadcaster. She continued: 'I'm going to be bullish about this and I think I wouldn't have done it.
"I loved Newsnight the way it was, but your point about linear [TV] is not lost. Everybody has to change and so I think there is a future for Newsnight and I think it will be in a different format.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
2 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Billy Connolly speaks about Elton John's inspiration as he releases new artwork
The 82-year-old has released four new limited edition works under his Born On A Rainy Day series, via Castle Fine Art, recalling some of the fondest memories from his life. One of the pieces, named Saturday Night, shows a piano player in action, with Sir Billy saying the character in his piece 'does that leg thing which is pure Elton'. Speaking about opening for the Rocket Man singer in 1976, he added: 'It was that point of the show where he backheeled the stool and it tumbled off the stage. The roadies all dived so that it didn't break. 'I saw Elton lately and he was better than I've ever seen him. He's an amazing performer.' Sir Billy, who began drawing in 2007 and has built a name for himself as an artist since his retirement from comedy in 2018, has also released Sausage Tree, which reflects on his childhood, Sunburned, which depicts a sunburned Scottish man, and Fly Away Peter, which shows a multicoloured figure surrounded by birds. The Glasgow-born star added: 'It's taken me years to call my art beautiful, I would never dream of saying it before for the chance that somebody would say, 'it's crap, you're no good', but I'm quite good. 'I can make people smile and feel happy. It's great.' Earlier this month, Sir Billy warned fans about scammers impersonating him online, telling them he and his wife, Pamela Stephenson, had been impersonated using artificial intelligence. He said scammers had been 'impersonating me, often reaching out to fans soliciting direct messaging', adding there 'could well be criminal intent'. Sir Billy has continued to record TV programmes since his retirement, with his most recent projects including shows such as 2018's Billy Connolly: Made In Scotland, Billy Connolly's Great American Trail in 2019, and Billy Connolly Does…, which began airing in 2022. The new pieces are available from Castle Fine Art from 8am on Friday.
Glasgow Times
2 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Billy Connolly speaks about Elton John's inspiration as he releases new artwork
The 82-year-old has released four new limited edition works under his Born On A Rainy Day series, via Castle Fine Art, recalling some of the fondest memories from his life. One of the pieces, named Saturday Night, shows a piano player in action, with Sir Billy saying the character in his piece 'does that leg thing which is pure Elton'. Speaking about opening for the Rocket Man singer in 1976, he added: 'It was that point of the show where he backheeled the stool and it tumbled off the stage. The roadies all dived so that it didn't break. 'I saw Elton lately and he was better than I've ever seen him. He's an amazing performer.' Sir Billy, who began drawing in 2007 and has built a name for himself as an artist since his retirement from comedy in 2018, has also released Sausage Tree, which reflects on his childhood, Sunburned, which depicts a sunburned Scottish man, and Fly Away Peter, which shows a multicoloured figure surrounded by birds. The Glasgow-born star added: 'It's taken me years to call my art beautiful, I would never dream of saying it before for the chance that somebody would say, 'it's crap, you're no good', but I'm quite good. 'I can make people smile and feel happy. It's great.' Earlier this month, Sir Billy warned fans about scammers impersonating him online, telling them he and his wife, Pamela Stephenson, had been impersonated using artificial intelligence. He said scammers had been 'impersonating me, often reaching out to fans soliciting direct messaging', adding there 'could well be criminal intent'. Sir Billy has continued to record TV programmes since his retirement, with his most recent projects including shows such as 2018's Billy Connolly: Made In Scotland, Billy Connolly's Great American Trail in 2019, and Billy Connolly Does…, which began airing in 2022. The new pieces are available from Castle Fine Art from 8am on Friday.
Evening Standard
3 hours ago
- Evening Standard
Billy Connolly speaks about Elton John's inspiration as he releases new artwork
Sir Billy, who began drawing in 2007 and has built a name for himself as an artist since his retirement from comedy in 2018, has also released Sausage Tree, which reflects on his childhood, Sunburned, which depicts a sunburned Scottish man, and Fly Away Peter, which shows a multicoloured figure surrounded by birds.
