Nikolay Kalinin examines whether Andrew Neil will or will not return to front GB News
It’s been more than a month since Andrew Neil announced that he was taking a break from GB News, and there’s reports that his “break” might just turn permanent, as reports come revealing a depressing picture of the broadcaster.
On Wednesday, The Telegraph reported that “there is now growing speculation that the ex-BBC stalwart will never return to the airwaves amid rumours of a bitter rift with his chief executive Angelos Frangopoulos.”
Frangopoulos is the former boss of Sky News Australia, which he turned from a budget channel to a megaphone for right-wingers, and there was speculation that he wanted to do the same with GB News. In other words, this clot wants GB News to become a safe haven for ‘COVIDIOTS’ like Laurence Fox.
On Thursday, The Daily Express – yes, I am aware it’s not the most reliable of sources – meanwhile published a statement from a source from GB News that highlights Neil’s chaotic time during his two weeks as presenter:
“He looked miserable, dejected and seriously stressed during the two weeks he was in Paddington. It wasn’t just the shambolic launch getting him down. It was the relentless technical failures making proper broadcasting impossible.”
“One night I was in the newsroom as he came off air after another hour of technical disasters. I think he was close to tears.”
Nevertheless, a spokesperson for GB News denied that the veteran presenter is abandoning ship and stated that he will “return from holiday in September to host his 8pm show.” This claim was further backed up by Neil’s own spokesperson.
There does seem to be a high chance that Neil may come back to GB News, considering how successful Nigel Farage’s show has been, even to the point that the broadcasts manage to attract more viewers than afternoon shows on the BBC and Sky News.
Still, we have to point out that Farage’s show is the only one attaining impressive ratings, and judging by how little amount of people tune into the channel on YouTube – at the time of writing, only 633 people are watching GB News live via YouTube – it could be a sign that the channel might not attain as much success as some people expected.
