Harold Macmillan Questioned by Robin Day in Groundbreaking Live Interview (1958)

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On 23 February 1958, UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan was interviewed live on air by Robin Day at ITN's Television House. Over a 13-minute segment, Macmillan faced rigorous questioning by Day across a range of topics, from Britain's nuclear deterrent to the future of the Commonwealth. The moment which made headlines, however, was when Day asked Macmillan about the position of Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd, who had been facing growing criticism in the press. The ensuing exchange saw Macmillan defend his foreign secretary before admitting that he sometimes wished he could give up the "appalling burdens" he carried in his role as prime minister. In his autobiography, Grand Inquisitor, published in 1989, Robin Day described the "historic and unprecedented" interview as "the moment when my life as a political journalist on TV really began". It was the first time a Prime Minister had been vigorously questioned on television. It turned Macmillan into a television personality. In the world of journalism, the interview sent Robin Day, in his own words, "into orbit". And it established the television interview as "a serious part of the democratic process".

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