This is Spectator Radio and you're listening to Women with Balls, presented by Katie Balls.

Hello and welcome to Women with Balls, where I, Katie Balls, speak to women at the top of their respective games about their passions, their battles and what makes them tick.

Today I'm joined by Emma Barnett. Since joining the BBC as Five Lives Morning presenter, Emma has

quickly carved herself out of reputation as one of the corporation's toughest interviewers. She's

drawn comparisons to Andrew Neal, and when she stood in for another Andrew, Andrew Marr, on the BBC's

flagship political show, she stole the limelight to the extent that next week Marr had to make

clear he had no plans to go full Emma Barner on his interviews.

Prior to that, Emma was head of the women's section at the Telegraph and a presenter at LBC.

So thank you for joining us today, Emma.

Thank you.

Before we get on to the present and you'll turn on the Mar show, as we mentioned, I wonder if you could talk us through a bit about how you got to the point you are now. So when you first decided you want to be a journalist, I know

acting was perhaps your first love? Yes. And then somebody pointed out to me, I'd be a waitress

most of the year. And I thought, I'm not sure I'll be very good at that because I lasted one

shift at ZZZs in Manchester and then had to jack it in. So journalism seemed like a good way of still being able to perform, if you're doing it on air,

obviously, as you're doing here with me on a microphone in the lovely spectator office.

But also I really like the idea of listening to people's stories.

I was very interested actually in feature journalism.

I wasn't interested in news that much.

I did study politics at University. I was at Nottingham history in politics. I was mainly interested in politics.

But then I went off to Cardiff to do the postgrad diploma there and I actually did it in

magazine journalism, didn't do it in newspaper journalism, didn't do it in broadcast journalism.

And I was really setting myself up to write all about the arts and culture and all of that.

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