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Natasha Kaplinsky - the new face of Five news |
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At 35, newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky is already a veteran, having worked for ITV, Sky, the BBC, and now Five. Vincent Graff asked her about her new big-money appointment - and whether she's worth it.
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Are the rumours true - that you're being paid £1m per year to present the news?
I don't want to confirm or deny how much I'm being paid, but it is an extremely generous package. It's an astonishing amount of money. I was shocked by it. But the offer sat on the table for a long time before I took the job - I just couldn't make up my mind.
My agent said: "I really think you should consider it." Straight away, I said "Absolutely no way. I'm extremely happy at the BBC." But they kept pushing me to consider it, so when I came back to London I had a couple of meetings with Five and it became more and more interesting and exciting. Yes, taking the job has done something completely ridiculous to my wages, but that has never been my motivation.
Are you worth the money you're paid?
Well, that's a really difficult question. Five seems to think I am but, no, how can anybody justify that? A dustman is worth £1 million for cleaning up the rubbish, as far as I'm concerned, and a doctor is worth £20 million for saving someone's life. It's just impossible to answer that question.
People always ask "How difficult is it to read the news?" What's your answer?
Well, you've got however many millions watching and you're a representative of the whole newsroom who've put together the day's programmes. You've got up to 16 people screaming in your ear, and you've got to rely on technology, which, as we know, doesn't always work when you need it to. And there's a responsibility to the story. It goes on and on.
What really irritates me is when the newspapers write about "autocuties". I think: "OK, mate - you do a couple of hours on live television and let's see how it goes." I would love to invite them to come and try it.
The programme has been renamed Five News with Natasha Kaplinsky. How much of your personality will you inject into the bulletin?
The aim is to make it a bit friendlier than the other news programmes - the news shouldn't feel like it's a chore. But the programme name was not my idea and I feel a bit nervous about it. I certainly don't plan to stamp my personality all over the news. I consider my job to be a vessel of information - but hopefully with a bit of shine and sparkle. That's reflected in the way they've asked me to dress - fewer jackets and much more informally. They've even asked me to wear jeans, but I'm not sure.
Why not?
I'm a reasonably serious journalist, and there's something about wearing a suit that puts you in the right frame of mind. I haven't quite found where they want to put me yet in terms of my outfits: they've sent stylists round to see me and it's been an horrendous experience. One of them went through my wardrobe and cringed at everything I had. Then he asked to see my shoes and said: "What have you been wearing?"
Cheeky so-and-so!
I know, I felt quite offended. After that, we
went shopping. I brought all the stuff home and I tried to live with it for a bit, and then I spent a whole week taking everything back. Obviously, I'm going to have to start again…
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Now check out our gallery charting Natasha's career
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