I first learned of its existence while staring slack-jawed at a familiar face rifling restlessly through the ready- made sandwich aisle of a North London Waitrose. Eggs and cress or coronation chicken? Decisions.
Decisions. Standing in front of me was one of Britain’s most famous news presenters, a man you see daily staring solemnly into the camera from behind a desk wearing unfailingly neat suits, shirts, and outrageously expensive ties. Yet here he was shopping for lunch in oversized jeans that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a ITV teens show circa 1997, an old rugby shirt with a stain on the cuff, and what can only be described as wellies.
It got me thinking. Since that day I’ve made it my business to observe TV presenters away from the cameras as much as possible, developing something of an occupational habit.
Covering photo shoots with them, seeing them at events, making the odd friend.
What follows is everything I’ve learned about what British television presenters wear when they think no one is watching. Before we begin, we need some terminology. Broadly speaking, British TV presenters autumn into one of three style camps when off-duty.
Examining which group they autumn into is a good way to suss out their attitude not just to clothes, but to how their presenting persona intersects with their public life. The Convertibles These are TV presenters who dress so in opposition to their work clothes you would not recognise them on the street. Our dear friend from Waitrose falls squarely into this camp.
It’s easy to see why he dresses like this: after donning suit, shirt, and devilishly expensive tie for five days a week, your desire to divorce yourself from that version of you when you leave the office is understandable. The uniforms some wearers are assigned (broadcast journalism in particular loves the naval style ‘uniform’) can be so remove from their personal style that when they can finally stop wearing it, they hit the other extreme. One well known presenter I interviewed recently described how when at home: “I turn into a slob, currently favourites are old jeans and old jumpers.” I’ve lost count of how many news presenters over the years have told me they feel like “a different person” when they’re not at work.
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What they wear on their days off is so far removed from their broadcasting persona you’d struggle to believe they’re the same person. Female news readers in smart dresses and heels cover themselves head-to-toe in baggy band t-shirts, well worn converse and the same battered North Face fleece they bought in their first year of university. Male news readers who espouse the tweed jacket and pocket square lifestyle when presenting the news adopt tracksuit bottoms and floaty untucked shirts and mysterious trainers so outdated and filthy you wonder how they’re allowed inside Primark.
Psychologically, it makes sense.
Presenting on TV necessitates wearing clothes that are essentially a costume. Once you strip it off at the end of the day, who wants to stay wrapped up like that?
Throw on some jeans and a fleece and you can relax like you’re nobody famous. For some, the destination clothes send the same message. The Continuers Continuers are TV presenters who view their off-camera style as a logical extension of what they wear on screen.
When off duty they continue wearing aspects of their presenting brand while dialling it down to suit the occasion. Continuers are more prevalent in entertainment/news- adjacent programming than actual news. Your laid back early breakfast show presenter wears clothes that feel lived-in and chic when presenting at work, so when she’s off duty IRL she continues to wear well cut jeans and cashmere jumpers in neutral tones that continue to flatter and present her as she does on camera.
Your favourite glossy magazine style cook wears trousers and tunics that look ‘effortlessly rumpled but actually very expensive’ on TV. You see her out and about and she’s wearing exactly the same thing. Presenters who autumn into this category have clearly worked out what works for them, what makes them comfortable on screen, and have internalised it to the point that it’s authentic to who they are off-camera as well.
Clothes don’t become an identity crisis for them when the cameras stop rolling, because for many Continue<|end_of_document|>
