Alex Jones and Matt Baker
The One Show celebrates 10 years of informing, educating and entertaining the nation, on Monday 5 September, 主播大秀 One at 7pm.
Hosted by Alex Jones and Matt Baker, the show will revisit a story each night this week selected from some of the 9,000 films broadcast over 2,000 episodes during the Show’s 10 years.
The One Show has been with viewers across the UK during a decade of rapid change and significant events, sharing their experiences, telling their stories and joining with them in big national moments.
We talked to presenters Alex Jones and Matt Baker during the photo-shoot for the show's week-long celebrations.
Tell us two surprising things about you
Alex Jones: I can drive a bus. Fully licensed. I’ve got a pink license for cars and blue one for a bus. Bendy bus, double decker, or a coach. And number two, I’m very shy.
Matt Baker: I am a very private person. I’m not sure whether that comes as a surprise. I don’t see my job as a way of life. When I leave work and go home and I switch off.
You seem to have a natural chemistry between you. Are you aware of that?
MB: I think we bring that to work. I think we both leave at the door when we leave the 主播大秀. We very much like being at home and having a run-of-the-mill life, enjoying day-to-day stuff.
AJ: Oh yes. We have a laugh. You come to work and you know you’re going to have a good time. But Matt and I would never be going to a premiere or a party after work. We’re just not like that at all.
What do you think is the enduring appeal of The One Show?
AJ: I think there are many things. One, it reflects the day that Britons have had. Second, it ends the day for young people and starts the evening for grown-ups. It covers such a vast array of topics sometimes in one programme. Nothing lasts any more than three or four minutes – if you don’t like this subject you may well like the next.
MB: It just sums up absolutely the perfect over-the-garden-wall conversation – the kind of conversation you’d have in a pub or some other community place. You’re flitting around all sorts of different subjects. You’re discussing them and then you move on. And to me, that’s how we in Britain like to have our conversations with people that we meet in our communities. So, we’re fizzing about one subject for a moment, then we’re fizzing about something completely different. Then someone else comes over and says "have you heard about this?”
AJ: … and I think because of that when there’s a level of glamour injected into it then it gets really exciting. Celebrities will come on and we’ll sometimes end up discussing really important things. Everyone gets involved in every topic.
Who are your most memorable celebrity guests?
AJ: Many for different reasons really. Hillary Clinton is probably up there as one of the guests we’ve really enjoyed having on the show.
MB: It was an extraordinary day. We’d had a leak in the studio so couldn’t broadcast from there. We had to go to old Broadcasting House. Obviously everyone had to be security checked. We didn’t find out until late in the day. So we moved The One Show sofa to the reception of old Broadcasting House. We actually saw Hilary walk across the reception behind us while we were on air. It’s not often that you get star-struck and that’s a lot to do with the show. Because we flit around subjects us as presenters are always in a position where we have to make sure the guest is at ease. And yet suddenly, Hillary Clinton walks in. It was a special moment.
AJ: She was just lovely. Guests like her surprise you. Kevin Spacey – he brought in Welsh Cakes. That was a nice gesture.
MB: Every single person hasn’t just come on the show to talk about their project. They’ve all been involved in some way shape or form in what’s been happening in Britain that day. In that way we’re an extension of the front room at home. We want them to feel as big a part of the show as the guests. As soon as you’ve got a Hollywood guest talking about things that people at home care about, that’s when the show really works. It’s perfect.
AJ: That’s when the show is really cohesive. Sometimes our guests will drop their guard. That’s when you can shock them with questions about the mundane. But they’re actually quite pleased to be asked.
But that’s something about you, isn’t it? You have the ability to cut-through and surprise people with stuff like that. Are you aware of that?
AJ: Not really, no. Because it’s live, we don’t really have time. Whether it’s someone who’s made a special film about an illness, or a family member, or it’s someone like Sir Elton John, and by treating everyone the same.
How would you describe The One Show?
MB: An eclectic mix of everything which is typically British. It’s eccentric. That’s what I love about it. Everything is possible. We can do whatever we want. We don’t shy away from ideas that people wouldn’t normally consider.
AJ: Or controversial sometimes.
MB: I like to give people a starting point with a subject. A guest will share something unexpected during a two or three-minute piece and then the next thing you know someone has gone off, found out more about that subject and dedicated their life to it. That’s something I learnt back in the day on Blue Peter. The number of people I’ve met since who’ve said to me, “I’m doing what I do today because of something I saw on Blue Peter.” For me, fundamentally, that’s what The One Show is really. It’s a friend that will introduce you to things so you can go off and explore it yourself.
Do you both feed into production?
AJ: Absolutely. Nobody would want to be a puppet. We come in at 2.30pm. We sit down with the editor and the producers and talk through the show. Everyone feeds into it. By the time we sit down for the show at 7.00pm it could be entirely different from what had been discussed at the meeting. That’s the joy of it.
MB: All we can do is set out a load of things we think might work with the person we’re interviewing that night. We’ll decide when we’re sitting there what’s working and what isn’t. We’ll change our line of questioning according to how they respond. You’ve got to be fluid like that.
AJ: There has to be spontaneity. That’s why we do it live. You never know what will happen.
That leads us seamlessly on to the next question. What’s been the hairiest moment on The One Show?
MB: We’ve had lots of animals going to the toilet on us …
AJ: Do you remember Matt when Sandi Toksvig was on and that massive vulture came to the studio?
MB: Actually yes, that was pretty hairy. She jumped a mile. Then there was that time when David Cassidy who had his face nearly bitten off by a llama. He was kissing the llama saying, “Oh aren’t you lovely.” We looked on in horror telling, “No! Don’t do that! Don’t do that!” The llama lurched at his face – he got out of the way just in time.
Who have you enjoyed interviewing the most?
MB: I liked Dolly Parton very much. Sparkly and warm. She chose my shirt for the broadcast. Alex watched her put her make up on. Very special having her around. It’s always nice when Lionel Richie is on, Billy Ocean too.
AJ: We once sang with Stevie Wonder. That was amazing. Do you remember Matt when we sang with Michael Buble? They’d set up a stage outside at the White City studio. Michael Buble invites us to sing.
MB: He gets us on stage and the awful thing was that we didn’t know the words – Love, Love, Love. He passes us the microphone for the verse but of course we didn’t know what the words were.
Alex, describe Matt
AJ: He’s an all-rounder, very trustworthy, very reliable. Somebody you’d want as your best friend. A brilliant, brilliant person to work with.
Matt, describe Alex
MB: Alex will always find the good in you. She absolutely will. She will always want to look at the brighter side of life. She’ll try and help in any way she can.
Are you aware of the chemistry between you?
AJ: Oh yes. We have a laugh. You come to work and you know you’re going to have a good time. But Matt and I would never be going to a premiere or a party after work. We’re just not like that at all.
What is the best thing about working with one another?
AJ: He couldn’t be a steadier ship. You need that when you broadcast everyday live. He’s a consummate professional.
MB: I would say the feeling of happiness you experience whenever you work with her. And we trust one another. We know where each other is going with stuff. We fill in each other’s blanks.
What’s the best thing about The One Show audience?
MB: Our audience is so incredibly loyal, they are. We notice it when we ask for their help.
AJ: Totally. The other day, we asked them to recreate a picture of Andy Murray in the ice bath with the Wimbledon trophy. Within half an hour they were sending their pictures in. It was amazing.
MB: The amount of money that the Rickshaw Challenge has raised for Sport Relief is amazing. You’re giving an honest true vision of what is going on – youngsters putting themselves on the line. That’s so clear when you see that on telly. People respond to that and give money.
AJ: The momentum has increased over the years too.
MB: It’s a support and respect thing which our viewers have for what we do on the show. It’s also about kickstarting the evening schedule. It’s everyone together – there are not many shows like it anymore. The One Show is a classic magazine show in that respect.