Martha Kearney: ‘Meg Ryan was the worst interviewee I've ever had'
Martha Kearney, 67, was born in Dublin and joined the BBC in 1990. She presented Radio 4's The World At One programme for 11 years and was one of the main Today programme presenters for eight and a half years before stepping down last summer. She currently presents This Natural Life on the same station and lives in Suffolk with her husband, the documentary maker Chris Shaw.
Best childhood memory?
When I was living in Ditchling in Sussex at the age of about 11, I was asked to play Alice in a village production of Alice Through the Looking Glass. It was a real little girl's dream. I had a little cape with a muffler and a little velvet cap. It turns out the production I was in became a cult classic. The music in it, which was quite psychedelic, was recorded and it was, much later, released as an album. I got a copy and so I now have a recording where you can hear my childhood voice.
Best day of your life?
It was in the best year of my life – 1989. My partner (now husband) Chris and I both packed in our jobs and went travelling. The first thing we did was go trekking in the foothills of the Himalayas in Kashmir. The altitude made sleeping tough but I remember one day where we walked across a glacier and emerged into a valley which was completely covered in purple flowers. We had a picnic and I recall lying in the grass and looking at the snowy peaks around us. It was just an incredible moment – partly because it was so difficult to get there. We felt we'd really earned our view.
Best friend you ever had?
I can only narrow this down to my best friend at the BBC – but that would definitely be Kirsty Wark. We met in the early 1990s when I first came to Newsnight. She was presenting at that time and she was, and is, just huge fun. She's also been such a supportive colleague. She took the time to show me around the studio, taught me how to look into the right camera and all that. She was very patient and sisterly to me. Over the years we've been on lots of holidays together. I threw a surprise birthday for her the other week where myself and lots of her friends all jumped out from behind the sofa. The decibel levels were very high that night.
Best live radio or TV debate?
I was presenting Woman's Hour and had both Germaine Greer and Julie Burchill on at the same time. The most almighty row broke out and Julie really attacked Germaine's book which I think was about plastic surgery. It was one of those moments where I just stood back and let the pair of them have their say. We ditched the rest of the programme so we didn't have to stop them. It was just amazing live radio where I had no idea what was going to happen next. I think Germaine was taken aback as she's such a great polemicist, but Julie just tore into her.
Best decision?
Buying our cottage in Suffolk. My parents found it and we're there most of the time now. We were given a beehive as a wedding present so that got me started as a beekeeper too. Moving to Suffolk really made me connect properly with the natural world. I saw my first peacock butterfly of the year today so it's a place where you really do feel the different seasons.
Best place in the world?
I really like exploring ancient ruins. I studied Latin and Greek at university and that love of those cultures have stayed with me all my life. The ones I really like are overgrown and feel a long way from anywhere. Termessos is one of the best preserved ancient sites in Turkey, with temples and huge blocks of stone. You feel like you're coming across things for the very first time when you're there. There are brambles and wild flowers everywhere and there's something about those tumbled, ancient blocks which is very romantic.
Worst day of your life?
The day of the death of my brother-in-law Alastair two years ago. He had Down's syndrome and he was an incredibly important part of my life. He always used to say that I was like both a mother and a sister to him. He got premature dementia and wasn't allowed to see us for a long time during Covid. It was very tough. He got very ill indeed and Chris and I were both with him when he died in hospital. He was only 60. I think about him all the time but do feel very blessed that I was able to be with him at the end.
Worst thing you've ever eaten?
I was in hospital having my wisdom teeth taken out. I couldn't wait for mealtime and I thought I'd been given a pastry in custard. It turned out it was a sausage roll which they'd put custard on by accident, instead of gravy. I was so hungry but I just couldn't eat that.
Worst person you've ever shared a studio with?
Meg Ryan was surprising. I'd always loved her films and I was expecting to meet this happy, funny, bubbly blonde, like her on-screen persona. But she was completely different. I almost didn't recognise her. She seemed so unhappy and angry and she clearly really didn't want to be interviewed. I was quite intimidated by her, and I wasn't even asking particularly probing questions. She was so tetchy and difficult. I felt a lot better when I saw her on Parkinson a week later and he had a very tough time with her as well. I thought, if Parky's having trouble then my bad interview with Meg can't all have been my fault.
Worst mistake you've ever made?
In 1979 I had this huge, early crisis of confidence. When I was a student I wrote to Woman's Hour to see if I could do some work experience for them. They liked an idea of mine about a woman's cult that had started up in Oxford with priestesses. I went off, recorded the piece, edited it then had a complete meltdown of confidence, decided it wasn't good enough and never sent the piece in. I did end up presenting Woman's Hour, but that was about 20 years later. I always think I could have saved myself a few years if I'd had the confidence. The imposter syndrome young women go through is a very real thing and it can be very debilitating.
Worst book you've ever read?
Weir of Hermiston by Robert Louis Stevenson was a book I had to read at school. I loved Treasure Island but this one was just so tedious. We were reading it aloud around the class so it just took forever to get through it. I did know a student at Oxford who hated one of his textbooks so much that he got an air rifle and shot holes in it! I've never gone that far.
Worst place you've ever visited?
The women's prison in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2002. What was really shocking was how incredibly overcrowded it was and how young the prisoners were. They were girls really, not women, and some were with their babies, lying on the floor. They'd been locked up for transgressing the religious laws of the Taliban, like being found in a car with a man who wasn't a member of their family. I hope those girls were let out of prison. But then I think about what's happening now and I feel so sorry for the women whose hopes were raised and have now been taken away, again.
All time worst?
Being on a plane surrounded by parents who let their children watch Peppa Pig or whatever on their iPads without headphones, all at the same time. I do occasionally ask people if they have any headphones. I also know people who will put on their own music very loudly, just to shock them. It's just this cacophony of different sounds all around you that I don't like.
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