John Sergeant

Shows

Argumental

Face the Music

Have I Got News for You (guest host)

The Personality Test (guest host)

Strictly Come Dancing (participant)

Vote for Me (judge)

X Marks the Spot (panellist)

Biography

Born in Oxford in 1944, Sergeant is the former BBC Chief Political Correspondent who, after 30 years in the clutches of Auntie Beeb, jumped ship to ITN before retiring to be a flexitime media pundit-at-large. One of the most famous moments of his career involved being shoved by Margaret Thatcher on the steps of the Paris embassy when she lost the Conservative Party leadership contest.

Trivia

He has two sons, both of whom have also gone into broadcasting: Mike Sergeant is a BBC reporter and Will Sergeant is a television producer and writer.

As part of the 1960s satire boom, he was once Alan Bennett's straight man.

He's the president of the Samuel Johnson Society.

He was one of the most popular guests on "Room 101", talking about his pet hates. He was also a very witty and welcome regular guest on the Alan Coren/Sandi Toksvig/Rod Liddle series of Call My Bluff.

He presented the enjoyable 2009 series "John Sergeant on the Tourist Trail", in which he joined tourists from other countries in their quest to experience British culture, including The Beatles, Robin Hood, Beatrix Potter and recreating battles: Sergeant even dressed up in the appropriate historical gear when required. At the end of each programme, he always took the opportunity to play tourist guide, taking his guests to places relevant to his own life (such as the area of Oxfordshire in which he spent his early years and the building in Liverpool where he met his wife forty years earlier).