Ian Hislop's forty years at Private Eye, told to Newsnight
Paddy O'Connell's interview takes in seven prime ministers in ten years, journalism's place in an "assault on truth" and why Hislop says Britain "isn't" broken.
BBC Politics
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Ian Hislop on 40 years as Private Eye editor and why Britain "isn't" broken
Fifteen uploads went up on BBC Politics, most of them the usual conference-season mix. One stood apart: Ian Hislop marking four decades as editor of Private Eye in a Newsnight interview with Paddy O'Connell. It has drawn close to a quarter of a million views in three days, far more than anything else the channel posted.
The description promises what he got right and wrong, journalism's role in an "assault on truth" and his explanation for seven prime ministers in ten years. Viewers have picked out a moment that rarely happens with Hislop: he grows emotional over the long-delayed recognition of the officers behind The Wipers Times, the First World War trench paper whose story he has told before. Others are retelling his anecdote about a reader's letter, and several admit they still cannot guess his own politics.
The rest of the week belonged to the conferences. Jack Fenwick went to Brighton for the Green Party and the motion hanging over Zack Polanski's leadership. Politics Live looked at Andy Burnham's Manchester City remarks, which Downing Street later clarified. Laura Kuenssberg's sit-down with Kemi Badenoch before the Conservatives meet in Birmingham is a day old and already the channel's second-fastest video.
Daily views are running at about twice their usual level, and the subscriber count barely moved. Among similar news broadcasters, Fox News Clips and TLDR News also ran hot, while Face the Nation and A Current Affair were quieter than usual. In views gained over the week, BBC Politics sat mid-pack, with the interview doing most of the work.
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- Channel
- BBC Politics
- Subscribers
- 897,000 ▲ 1,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 1,959,434
- Videos published this week
- 15
- Video published
- October 2, 2026
- Video views so far
- 246,906
- Views on its first day
- 94,770
The numbers
Here is how BBC Politics' week looks in figures.
💡 Test your knowledge
Whom did Ian Hislop succeed as editor of Private Eye in 1986?
Richard Ingrams edited Private Eye from 1963 until he handed over to Hislop in 1986.