The journalist and podcaster on dreaming of Donald Trump, being shot at, and an awkward celebrity crush

Born in London, Jon Sopel, 65, joined the BBC in 1983 as a reporter and producer for Radio Solent. He went on to become a news anchor, presenting on the BBC News channel, The Politics Show and Global With Jon Sopel. As the BBC’s North America editor he covered the 2016 and 2020 elections and Donald Trump’s White House for TV, radio and online; he also co-hosted the Americast podcast. Since 2022, he has presented The News Agents podcast with Emily Maitlis and Lewis Goodall. Sopel’s new book is Strangeland: How Britain Stopped Making Sense. He is married with two children and lives in London.

What is your greatest fear?
Failure, being caught out, making an idiot of myself.