Emily Maitlis's My London

1/2
Hannah Nathanson10 April 2012

Where do you live in London?
Right beside Hyde Park, which is the thing that keeps me sane. I run first thing most mornings.

Which London shops do you rely on?
Crussh on Kensington High Street for a spirulina booster. Mascaró in Marylebone does the best boots in the world. And if I suddenly find I'm faced with 12 people for dinner, I call up Karl at Ottolenghi and he packages up just enough stuff to let me concentrate on one or two key dishes of my own. I also love Julie's Vietnamese nail bar in Notting Hill as they let me watch the news while I have a pedicure.

What was the last play you saw?
I saw Jerusalem and I seem to be the only person in London who didn't adore it. I loved the opening scene but found the rest too long. We'd just been covering the Dale Farm evacuation on the news that day and I remember thinking it was a bit of a busman's holiday.

What advice would you give a tourist?
Buy an A-Z and walk a bit faster. I am always getting stuck behind a row of five Italians across the pavement. I love Italians, but do they have to walk in fives?

What's the best meal you've had in London?
At La Trompette, Chiswick. It's just faultless and neighbourhoody enough to not feel you have to dress up.

What's the most romantic thing someone's done for you?
Given me the most beautiful Chagall painting for my birthday.

Where are your sexiest places in London?
The Black Cotton Club near Chancery Lane and the Argentine cocktail bar Galante on Sloane Avenue. One is the perfect swing-club hall to show off vintage clothing and the other has exorbitant Argentinian cocktails.

What's your earliest London memory?
Passover meals with my grandparents in Golders Green. They were the longest nights ever and quite often ended in tantrums, but I look back on them now as seminal to my upbringing.

What's your biggest extravagance?
Black cabs. I couldn't exist without them. A haven and a mobile office.

Which animal would you most like to be?
One of our pet chinchillas. It's the only way I'd get a kiss from my now-very-grown-up seven-year-old.

How would you like the opening line of your obituary to read?
'The Nobel and Pulitzer prize-winning grandmother of seven' But let's be honest, it will probably start: 'The news presenter who died under a bus while texting as she crossed the road'

Do you have a recurring dream?
I dream I can do side splits. I've had that dream since I was ten and I always wake up disappointed when I find it's not true.

If you could live in any building in London, which would it be?
I'm trying to choose between the Norwegian Embassy and the French Ambassador's residence. The French one is stunning - I've been invited there a couple of times - but the Norwegian one has a west-facing garden

What's the first thing you do when you arrive back in London?
I run in Hyde Park, and I head to Emile in Kensington for a blow-dry.

What would you do as Mayor for the day?
I'd bring down the entry prices at London Zoo and make sure the animals looked happier. And I'd stop digging up the whole city.

Who's your hero?
Sarah Lund: mannish, free of vanity, intrepid and a bit of a psycho, but very, very cool.

Which are your favourite London pubs?
The Victoria in Paddington, The Dove by the river in Hammersmith, the Windsor Castle and The Elephant & Castle in Kensington.

What's the best piece of advice you've been given?
My sister once told me you have to ask for what you want. It's what men do, but women do it rarely.

What music do you find most romantic?
I love the haunting Chassidic music of synagogue - the Kol Nidre Service or the Yigdal. It can reduce me to tears.

What are you up to at the moment?
Working towards the Action for Children Ultimate Quiz Night in March, and covering the American elections.

Have you ever had a disastrous Valentine's Day?
My finest Valentine's disaster was spent in pink satin sheets in a love motel in Delhi with Andrea Catherwood.
She is one of my closest friends, but I don't think it was what either of us were quite expecting.

What's the most romantic holiday you've been on?
I was working in Matalascañas in Andalucia when I was 18 and a man offered to take me to the gypsy fair on his horse.

What are your favourite London discoveries?
Adrian Harrington Rare Books; the Vietnamese restaurants in Dalston; the number 100 bus route (my five-year-old adores buses); and Benji at Mark Anthony for Pilates.

Emily Maitlis presents Newsnight on BBC Two at 10.30pm

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in