My London: Kirsty Wark

The Newsnight presenter would take a date to The Wolseley, dines at Gitane and is fond of a nightcap at the Riding House Café
Matt Crossick
Dipal Acharya22 March 2018

Home is

Glasgow with my husband, Alan Clements, and my daughter, Caitlin, who is a journalist, too. My son, James, lives in New York.

Where do you go to let your hair down?

Occasionally, after Newsnight, drinking late in the Riding House Café.

Where do you stay when you’re in London?

Our apartment is two minutes’ walk from Oxford Circus, where I can look across red chimney pots to the London Eye in the distance. It has so many good spots for food — Gitane, Honey & Co, Kaffeine.

Biggest extravagance?

Shoes. Last week I just had to renew my Roger Vivier black patent flats. The old pair was more than 10 years old. I have been known to buy two pairs of the same shoes if they are perfect.

Who is your hero?

Robin Day (left). I was a producer on the World at One in the early Eighties when he presented it. He was rigorous, erudite and a lot of fun.

Best place for a first date?

If the first date is breakfast then head to The Wolseley (above). It’s not scarily intimate but wonderfully airy and always abuzz. If it’s lunch. then it has to be the new Mortimer House Kitchen, which has a great menu and a lovely atmosphere. If it’s dinner and it is likely to go well then head to Salt Yard. I cooked there for MasterChef and its delicious food is designed for sharing.

Who do you call when you want to have fun?

If I want to have fun I call my girlfriends — BBC and non-BBC. We are the voice of the beehive!

Bus or Tube?

Bus over Tube, but the whole transport system is great. When the Tube is rammed it is frightening. I prefer the little underground in Glasgow. It used to be painted orange — hence its nickname — the Clockwork Orange.

Most iconic Londoner?

Elizabeth I (left).

Queen Elizabeth I
Alamy Stock Photo

What would you do if you were Mayor for the day?

I’d make everyone stop for two minutes and have a conversation with someone they didn’t know.

Favourite London discovery?

If Hampton Court counts as London, then there.

Last play you saw?

The Ferryman (above). I went with my dear friend Ruth Pitt and was totally immersed in it. The cast is great. Jez Butterworth found the humour in the hellish.

Favourite shops?

The Cloth House (left) on Berwick Street for lovely fabrics, buttons and quilts; Daunt Books on Marylebone High Street — it’s so lovely I could live there; Agnès B, it never lets me down; Christopher Kane on Mount Street. He is a wonderful designer and the welcome is so friendly. And always, Liberty.

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