Former Labour MP Barry Gardiner has revealed the "real reason" behind Emily Maitlis's famous eye roll during their Brexit interview on BBC Newsnight in 2017.
The eye roll moment became one of the most iconic scenes in British political broadcasting.
During the 2017 interview, Maitlis was questioning Gardiner about Labour's position on Brexit when she dramatically rolled her eyes on camera.
The gesture instantly went viral on social media, with many seeing it as Maitlis expressing the public's frustration with politicians' non-answers during the Brexit debate.
Barry Gardiner has revealed the "real reason" behind Emily Maitlis's famous eye roll
GB NEWS
Speaking to GB News, Gardiner explained that Maitlis was actually frustrated with her crew before they went on air.
He recalled the moment: "Do you know what? Actually, I'll tell you the real story there.
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"This was during the Brexit debate everyone was out on College Green, up on the platforms. And she was really angry with her crew. She was saying, 'Fix the monitor!' this was before we went on."
GB News host Patrick Christys said: "Honestly, she’s a nightmare to work with."
He responded: "I didn’t say that! I didn’t say that. She’s right I did not say that!"
"She really was annoyed with her crew. She was saying, 'Can you fix it?' and they were saying, 'No, that’s not our job we can’t do that, we’re your crew.
"They were working to rule, and she was really pent up about it and it happened when I wouldn’t give her the answer she wanted. It wasn't to do with me."
The journalist has made headlines again recently after she challenged ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe on his crowdfunded 'rape gang inquiry' and his characterisation of child grooming gangs.
The confrontation centred on Lowe's claim that "95 per cent of these people are Pakistani" when referring to grooming gangs.
Maitlis immediately challenged this assertion as "absolutely not true," citing police figures from 2023 which identified 224 white grooming gang suspects compared to just 22 Pakistani suspects.
The clip of the Newsnight presenter went viral
BBC
When Lowe defended his inquiry and ignored the statistics, Maitlis directly accused him of racism.
"I'm telling you that you are focusing on Pakistani grooming gangs because probably, you're racist and you don't believe that there are white perpetrators of the same crime," she told him.
Following the interview, Lowe took to social media to respond to Maitlis's accusations.
"Emily Maitlis can call me racist for highlighting the Pakistani rape gangs. Let me be clear – I do not care," he posted on his account.
He further claimed that "that vile attitude enabled the decades-long mass rape of working class white girls by Pakistani men" and insisted that "justice must finally be delivered".
