Jeremy Paxman is arguably Britain's most respected political journalist, renowned for his tough, rigorous interviewing of public figures. He was born in Leeds and educated at a prestigious private school, Malvern College. He graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in English. He joined the BBC as a trainee in 1972 and began working on BBC radio. He worked as a foreign correspondent for BBC television news and read the Six O'clock News. In 1989, Paxman took on what has become the defining job in his career, presenting Newsnight (1980). Although Newsnight had been on the air for nine years previously, and has been presented by other presenters since, Paxman and Newsnight have become synonymous for most people, and he remains with the series to this day. Show less «