John Humphrys Recalls Being Intoxicated on Air During Nixon Resignation
Former BBC presenter John Humphrys has recounted an incident early in his career when he was intoxicated while reporting live. Humphrys told The Times that in August 1974, after a "lavish" lunch, he "staggered" back to the office and was tasked with breaking the news of US President Richard Nixon's resignation.
"I didn't fall off the chair, but it was painfully obvious,"Humphrys said, adding,
"That was the last time ever."
Humphrys later presented Radio 4's flagship Today programme for 32 years before retiring in 2019.
Now aged 82, he has launched a new podcast titled The Odd Couple, where he discusses topics including being the first journalist at the Aberfan disaster scene and his upbringing in Cardiff.
Humphrys, who joined the BBC in 1966, was working in Washington DC when he was among the first journalists to report Nixon's resignation.
He described to The Times how he had a "very, very, very lavish lunch," including "a couple of glasses of red" wine in the office beforehand.
"We used to have this gallon thing of burgundy, so had a couple of glasses of red wine, then go to the restaurant, have a martini or two, then a glass of wine with lunch and brandy afterwards."
"Anyway, I staggered back to the office and my PA, or BA [broadcast assistant], whatever they called them in those days, said: 'Are you sober?' and I said, 'What do you think darling?' or something stupid."
"And she said, 'You've got to get on. They've booked a satellite.'"
Humphrys said he "got through it" but "only just."
"She said to me the next day, my BA, 'London probably won't say anything to you, but they've just said it to me. You can't do it again'."
He confirmed the incident never repeated and noted that he now "virtually [does not] drink at all."
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Born in 1943, Humphrys grew up in Splott, Cardiff. In the first episode of his podcast, co-hosted with journalist Matthew Norman, he shared details about his childhood and education.
He achieved good grades and earned a place at Cardiff High Grammar School but was "the poorest kid in my class."
"It was not a nice time, not a good time and I hated it,"Humphrys said, recalling being picked on by classmates for owning only one pair of trousers and being told,
"your trousers smell bad."
Humphrys described working three part-time jobs while at school, including a morning paper round, messenger for a chemist, and tending an allotment.
At age 15, he left school to become a reporter for the Penarth Times.
"I needed the money, we needed the money,"he said.
"It didn't occur to me for a moment that I shouldn't leave school at 15 and start working."
Reporting on the Aberfan Disaster
At 21, Humphrys began working in television news for Television Wales and The West (TWW). From there, he was sent to cover the Aberfan disaster on 21 October 1966, when a coal tip slide killed 116 children and 28 adults.
"I was the first person to get there,"he said.
"There were mothers, hundreds of mothers with their babies standing watching their husbands, the miners on the top of this great heap with shovels and spades.
"They couldn't use heavy machinery because of crushing and the children were underneath this mountain of waste, so they were digging with their hands and their picks and shovels, looking for the bodies."
"The miners' faces were still black except the lines of white at the side of their cheeks, where the tears rolled."
A barman at a village pub allowed Humphrys to use the phone to report on the disaster.
"I did a broadcast to TWW and that was broadcast to the world,"he said.
"I didn't have time to write anything or prepare anything, I just described what I was seeing."
"I've seen quite a few horrible things in my time, but nothing matches that."
