On Tuesday night, a televised debate between the Tory leadership candidates was cut short on TalkTV when the host of the debate fell live in the air.
Journalist and broadcaster Kate McCann had just asked the prime minister a hopeful question Liz Truss on the UK’s position on Ukrainebut shortly after Liz started answering her question, a loud bang was heard off screen and Liz pulled her hands to her face in disgust and exclaimed, “Oh my god.”
The live show was taken off the air as a dramatic end to the proceedings, and headlines quickly focused on the unexpected incident, but in my mind the fainting was by far the least interesting or newsworthy element of Kate’s performance that night.
Up to that point, Kate had moderated the debate in a firm but fair manner, keeping candidates on track as they drifted into pre-prepared monologues, failing to answer the gist of the questions being put to them. She kept Rishi on her toes, intercepting his multiple attempts to talk about his rival and denying his attempt to change the topic of the conversation.
To many viewers, it may seem like a TV host is just doing his job, but as someone who’s watched a lot of political debates in my day, I’ve seen how hard it can be to keep them from falling into chaos.
That is why the night should not be remembered for Kate’s medical accident, but for her professional prowess.
During leadership campaigns, politicians are desperate to score points and blow up their ready-made sound bites. But it doesn’t always make for useful debate or comfortable viewing.
After she passed out I can only hope that Rishi wasn’t the one calling for medical help as they would be waiting a long, long time for an answer
Take the debate from the night before, for example, when Liz and Rishi go head-to-head on the BBC’s ‘Our Next Prime Minister’ with presenter Sophie Raworth. The show literally started flat, because the candidates were initially mistaken for cardboard cutouts by viewers watching from home, due to their rather awkward and static poses during the opening shot.
In the first 12 minutes alone, Rishi reportedly interrupted Liz about 20 times, rarely being called out by the moderator. During the program, he spoke with Liz, Sophie and the experts who were on hand to verify the candidates’ claims. Sophie did little to stop Rishi, who was determined to talk about everyone and seemingly intent on ruining his image as a nice guy.
I haven’t hidden behind a pillow so much since watching Squid Game. It was so painful to see that if passing out was an option, I would have taken it.
So I was concerned about how the next day’s debate would affect my blood pressure. The candidates appeared in 3D this time, as Kate McCann introduced herself as ‘moderator, not referee’.
“As my mother says, ‘If everyone talks at once, no one will be heard,'” she explained, following her mother’s advice.
Rishi tried – again – to talk about his rival, but Kate wouldn’t let it. Many people criticized Liz for not trying to overwhelm Rishi in the previous night’s debate, suggesting it showed a weakness on her part.
But as a woman in politics, she would risk being labeled “shrew,” “bossy,” or “confused” for raising her voice in return. Not to mention that it makes for terrible TV when subjects are screaming at each other.
It’s the moderator’s job to do the moderation, and when Sophie stepped back, Kate stepped up and let both candidates have their say.
At one point, when Rishi was asked how long he had to wait for someone to answer the phone, the last time he called 111, Rishi tried to deviate from Liz before telling the story of his family’s ties to healthcare, but Kate had none of that.
After she passed out, I can only hope that Rishi wasn’t the one to get medical attention as they would have to wait a very long time for an answer.
After the incident, I was happy to hear that Kate had made a full recovery. The next day she returned to presenting tasks and said:‘[I’m] a little embarrassed, a little bruised, [but] happy to be back and all right.’
Embarrassment is far from what she should feel, as her performance on the show surpassed the rather abrupt ending.
In TalkTV’s “Fight for No.10” showdown, there was only one winner: Kate McCann.
Do you have a story you want to share? Contact us by email [email protected].
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
LAKE : Ben Wallace backs Liz Truss and accuses Rishi Sunak of betraying Boris