Emily Matilis deployed a tactic to ensure screen time during the 2017 General Election (Picture: BBC/ Ella Millward)
Emily Maitlis has revealed a savvy trick she deployed to ‘get noticed’ during coverage of the 2017 General Election on the BBC.
The journalist, 53, said she purposefully wore a brightly coloured outfit to command the attention of fellow host David Dimbleby, 85, and secure screen time.
Speaking about her on-air tactics during the last election, Emily told Tatler: ‘The most important thing was a bright colour so that I would be in David Dimbleby’s eyeline the whole time and he couldn’t ignore me.
‘I ended up going for red, because it made me feel like I could just stand there at the corner of the studio, going, “Hello, can you please put me on air?”’
David was the lead presenter of the BBC’s 2017 General Election coverage and was joined in the studio by Emily, Mishal Husain, and Jeremy Vine. Huw Edwards took over from David the following day.
The election ended in a hung parliament with the governing Conservative Party, then led by Theresa May, remaining the single largest party in the House of Commons.
Emily said she wore a red outfit to help her ‘stand out’ in the studio (Picture: BBC News)
She also said the cover would ensure she would be in David’s eyeline (Picture: BBC)
To stay in power, the Tory minority government formed a coalition with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.
On July 4, Emily will present Channel 4’s coverage of the General Election along with former Strictly star Krishnan Guru-Murthy. It comes two years after she quit the BBC to front her The News Agents podcast with Jon Sopel.
Over on the BBC, Laura Kuenssberg and Clive Myrie are taking on General Election hosting duties.
It was previously expected that Huw would lead the BBC’s coverage after he took over from David in 2019 but he resigned from the BBC earlier this year following allegations that he paid a young person for sexually explicit photos.
Emily spoke about her experience covering the General Elections on Tatler (Picture: Luc Braquet)
She was joined by fellow anchors Kay Burley and Mishal Husain on the shoot (Picture: Luc Braquet)
Speaking about the election, Emily told Tatler: ‘Either it’s the first change of government for 15 years or it’s the most incredible comeback you’ve ever seen.
‘The hardest thing this time will be that I won’t have heard of most of the candidates.’
This year has seen the second-highest number of former MPs to stand down ahead of an election in modern political history.
Emily also said fronting Channel 4’s election coverage will feel like ‘going home.’
Emily will lead coverage of the General Election with Krishnan (Picture: Matt Alexander/PA Media Assignments)
Clive and Laura, meanwhile, are doing the honours for the BBC (Picture: Jeff Overs/BBC)
Huw had been expected to present the BBC’s General Election coverage before his resignation (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
She admitted: ‘There was a little rivalry between Channel 4 News and Newsnight.
‘We always used to fight for the same guests and the same stories. I feel like I’m going home.’
According to a YouGov poll conducted earlier this month, Labour is predicted to win by a landslide.
The survey projects that Keir Starmer’s party will win a majority of 194 seats, which is more than the New Labour victory in 1997.
Current prime minister Rishi Sunak’s party, the Conservatives, are predicted to win just 140 seats – their worst result in 117 years.
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