Former GB News chairman and presenter Andrew Neil is reportedly in talks with Channel 4 to discuss hosting a new show, as his former network has claimed record ratings.
Former BBC bigwig Andrew Neil is said to be in talks with the left-leaning Channel 4 publicly owned TV network about presenting a weekly political analysis show as he seeks to distance himself from his time at GB News, The Telegraph reports.
Channel 4 affirmed their new relationship with Neil by surprising viewers with the announcement that a documentary featuring Neil on the topic of the future of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be aired on the 30th of January.
The move comes despite Neil previously dismissing claims about moving to Channel 4 and in August of 2020 writing on social media: “Channel 4 is basically the broadcast arm of the Guardian. Don’t think they’d have much interest in me”.
While Neil helped to create the ‘anti-woke’ GB News after he left the BBC, the veteran presenter resigned from his position as chairman just three months after the channel launched.
It was reported that Neil allegedly had a strained relationship with GB News’ chief executive, Angelos Frangopoulos, which was exacerbated by the hiring of Brexit Boss Nigel Farage, a move Neil is said to have opposed.
Upon his resignation, Neil attempted to brand his former channel as a “British Fox News”, and accused Fox news of peddling “untruths”, “conspiracy theories” and “fake news”.
GB News’ Calvin Robinson, who is set to launch a new religious affairs programme on the channel, told Breitbart London that Andrew Neil is a “bad egg”.
“He [Neil] left the company in bad faith and shoved his former colleagues under the bus. Many people – especially the younger ones – looked up to him, and he spat in their faces, even resorting to name-calling in the papers”, Robinson said.
Robinson went on to criticise Neil’s politics since leaving GB News saying: “He [Neil] then went on to publish a piece about punishing ‘vaccine refuseniks‘ [unvaccinated individuals]. That kind of disgusting language should have no place in 21st Century Britain. He’s what my grandma would call a wrong ‘un!”.
Despite Neil’s attempts to smear the upstart channel, GB News hosts have been celebrating after claiming that Nigel Farage’s show on the news channel defeated Sky News in viewing ratings on the 27th of January 2022.
Senior host Dan Wootton announced the news, claiming: “End of another big week on GBNEWS in primetime, where we smashed Sky News yet again in the ratings last night. Amazing work Nigel Farage and Mark Steyn. We couldn’t do this without you, our loyal army of viewers who ignored the establishment hysteria and gave us a chance.”
Speaking to Breitbart, Calvin Robinson said: “Let’s see how widely this gets reported. MSM was quick to poopoo the station in its first few weeks when ratings were up and down. I doubt they’ll be so eager to celebrate our success”.
“Let’s face it, they want GB News to fail. They’re all singing from the same hymn sheet and GB News provides an alternative perspective. That’s dangerous to the MSM, which is why they see GB News as such a threat,” he continued.
The presenter went on to highlight how many people are “tired of the same old approved narrative being shovelled down our throats all day every day by the MSM”, and how GB news provided “something new” through asking “the questions many of us want answered”.
Robinson also suggested GB News’ competitors Sky and the BBC are “copying” the channel by launching new shows that mirror the “popular” political panel format on GB News. He did however brand this a “good thing” as Robinson believes it will result in a “broader range of political opinions” being shown “across the media”.
“Well done Team GB News”, he concluded.