End of an Era: Britain Mourns One of the BBC’s Bravest Journalists
Rod Liddle, who has d!ed aged 66 after a short illness, boasted a razor-sharp wit and uncompromising talent that took him places others feared to tread
Journalist and broadcaster Rod Liddle who has d!ed aged 66 after a short illness (Image: Corbis via Getty)
Journalist and broadcaster Rod Liddle, who has d!ed at the age of 66, was an inimitable writer whose razor sharp wit and uncompromising, unconventional attitude took him places in his work that few other commentators dared tread. Having edited the Today programme from 1998 to 2002, he resigned after writing incautiously about the Countryside Alliance. Ordered on impartiality grounds to choose between the BBC and his newspaper column, to no one’s surprise he chose the latter.
While running Radio 4’s flagship programme was – at the time – one of the most prestigious jobs in the British media with seven million listeners a week including everyone from the Prime Minister downwards, it was a behind-the-scenes role. Leaving the BBC to embark on freelance life, Liddle’s controversial, frequently hilarious opinions soon placed him firmly centre stage where he would remain for the rest of his life.
Weekly columns followed in The Spectator political magazine, The Sunday Times and The Sun and, while once describing himself as ‘Blue Labour’ in outlook, he became one of Britain’s best-known and most incisive right-wing commentators. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said she had missed Liddle’s column in recent weeks. “I don’t have the words to express how sad this is for journalism, for his readers and most of all his friends and family,” she said.
Liddle editing Radio 4’s flagship Today programme (Image: BBC)
Liddle shocked and entertained in equal measure and, while he delighted in stoking controversy, inflaming public outrage and provoking liberals, his views sometimes triggered accusations of misogyny and racism. He defended his right to free speech and satire and survived multiple attempts by detractors to cancel or deplatform him.
In December 2021, students at Durham University staged a mass walkout when Liddle gave an after-dinner speech including remarks regarding trans people, colonialism and sex workers that were deemed offensive. In 2018 he caused outrage in Wales after writing that the Second Severn Crossing linked Wales with the “first world”.
And in 2019, he came under fire for a magazine article appearing to call for ballots to favour the Tories by being held on days universities were closed and Muslims forbidden from voting. He later defended the piece as an attempt to satirise the debate over the timing of the general election and argued frequently in his work that freedom of speech is meaningless if it does not encompass the freedom to cause offence.
In addition to writing, Liddle was a regular contributor to podcasts, broadcasts and events, and made several documentaries. For Channel 4’s Dispatches, The New Fundamentalists examined the rise of Christian fundamentalism and its anti-Darwinian influence in Britain, while The Trouble With Atheism argued that those who reject religion could be just as intolerant as its adherents.
More controversially, a documentary called Immigration Is a Time Bomb broadcast by Channel 4 in 2005 drew complaints that then BNP leader Nick Griffin was allowed to speak unchallenged. Ofcom ruled that the programme was fair, dismissing complaints.
Many arguments posited by the programme – including dramatic population growth, pressure on public services, housing and the environment, and the strain on social cohesion caused by the clash between liberal democracies and fundamental religions – were highly controversial at the time but have since become more mainstream.
More recently he presented a weekly show on Times Radio. Readers and listeners loved his bravery even if he occasionally went too far.
Liddle left his first wife, journalist Rachel Royce, after meeting Alicia Monckton on the reception desk at The Spectator and the pair married in 2008. He d!ed at the James Cook University hospital in Middlesbrough on Sunday following a short illness.
With second wife Alicia Monckton (Image: Alan Davidson/Shutterstock)
His children, Wilde and Tyler, from his first marriage, and Emmeline from his second, said in a statement: “We’re all very saddened and shocked at the sudden passing of our wonderful father. He raised us much as you might imagine, to be inquisitive, brave and always humourous.
“Even in hospital in the last few weeks, he consistently held the room and never let the awful situation show. He has left a legacy that we are all incredibly proud of, he will always be our guide on how to live an extraordinary life.”
Before joining the BBC, Liddle, who was born in Sidcup, Kent, worked as a reporter on The South Wales Echo and Western Mail and was a research assistant and speechwriter for the Labour Party during one of their least successful periods, from 1983-1987. After returning to university as a mature student at the London School of Economics, he joined the BBC as a trainee producer, before being appointed editor of Today in 1998.
With his untucked shirts and shock of hair he exuded rock star energy and staff soon nicknamed him “Rod the Mod”. John Humphrys, Today’s lead presenter during Liddle’s editorship, said: “Rod was wonderful to work with. We argued like hell – I can’t remember how many times he sacked me or I resigned in anger. Rod brought life, fun, energy and compassion to Today.
“He had an understanding of what makes people tick. For a presenter there was just something quite magical about him. You never knew what you would end up with. He was a one-off.”
Justin Webb, another long-standing presenter, added: “He was in many respects the complete opposite of the image that he liked to portray. He cared deeply about people and about civilised behaviour… but he also had a genuine hostility to authority that is the mark of a truly great journalist.”
Ben Taylor, editor of The Sunday Times, said: “Rod Liddle had a wonderful way with words and used his unique talent to speak for the readers, highlighting the cant and absurdity that bedevils modern life. He was also supremely entertaining and for years his column was the first that many turned to every Sunday. We will miss him desperately.”
We were lucky to have had him.
