Matthew Parris says Weekend World has no modern equivalent: “People don’t have the attention span now”

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According to Matthew Parris, his predecessor, Brian Walden, was ‘Weekend World.’ He completely embodied the show and was so distinctive he almost seemed like a fictional character. Parris understood that when he accepted the role, he wasn’t just taking over a program, but stepping into the shoes of a singular personality.

In June 1986, Parris was a Conservative Member of Parliament representing West Derbyshire, but he was open to new opportunities. He recalled that when LWT offered him a job, he first asked if he was their top choice. He learned they had previously approached Chris Patten and Bryan Gould, both of whom had declined the offer.

I hadn’t been offered any chances to move up in my current role, and I received a job offer with double the pay of a Member of Parliament. The offer required me to leave Parliament, but I was feeling stuck and unfulfilled as a backbencher, so I decided to try something new.

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I remember watching those Sunday political interviews for years! While Peter Jay actually started the show way back in ’72, it always felt like Jeremy Paxman was the one everyone measured future hosts against. Now, Michael Parris himself has said taking over the program felt like following Sir Alex Ferguson as manager of Manchester United – that’s how big the pressure was! It’s a tough job, stepping into shoes like that.

The show’s format – a single, hour-long interview – was becoming outdated and relied heavily on the skill of the interviewer to stay relevant. Without someone with a similarly unique talent, it wouldn’t succeed. I don’t believe the show’s eventual decline was solely my responsibility; I simply wasn’t at the level of a legendary interviewer like Brian Walden.

During his two years hosting the show, Parris noticed a clear pattern: Margaret Thatcher never appeared as a guest. He believed she hadn’t forgiven him for resigning as a Member of Parliament, which triggered a costly and disruptive special election.

Parris recalls that Thatcher considered the situation unforgivable. Though she didn’t state it directly, it became obvious she wouldn’t appear on Weekend World, and that meant the program would consistently lack the Prime Minister’s participation.

The show ended in 1988, but recently saw a revival with the TV drama Brian and Maggie. Was Parris taken aback by what the drama revealed, such as the fact that the Prime Minister and a key interviewer used to share drinks late at night?

I was really struck by what he said. It seems like after it aired, people were completely split. Half of them told him they’d suspected all along, while the other half – just like him – were shocked by how unprofessional it was. It really highlighted the different reactions to what happened.

I always loved Weekend World, and it really feels like nothing quite matches it today. I was reading what Matthew Parris had to say, and he hit the nail on the head – there just isn’t anything similar now. He explained that while podcasts are fantastic for chats, Weekend World went so much further. They’d actually spend around twenty minutes thoroughly researching the topic before the guest even came on! It was genuinely informative, a brilliant concept, but he thinks – and I sadly agree – that people just don’t have the patience for that kind of depth anymore.

We discovered that people are much more forthcoming and cooperative during a relaxed, friendly conversation than when they feel challenged or attacked. Brian Walden understood this and always took the time to make his interviewees feel comfortable.

Authors

Caroline Frost

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2026-06-01 19:44