Andrew Neil: It would’ve killed me to carry on

Kieran Galpin

Neil dishes the dirt, and boy is it dirty!

Former GB news frontman Andrew Neil has spoken out about his woes regarding the fledgling news channel, and let’s just say it wasn’t easy sailing.

“I came close to a breakdown,” says Neil, crying according to the Daily Mail.

Big interview tomorrow in the Daily Mail about me and GB News. Quite distressing to revisit terrible, unnecessary times. But good to get the truth out, at last.

— Andrew Neil (@afneil) September 24, 2021

After just a week at GB News, Andrew Neil had decided to pack it in. The show faced numerous technical disasters, constant trolling, and boycotts from businesses and the general public alike. Though many, including myself, instantly connected GB News with America’s FOX, Neil rebukes the idea that they set out to be a carbon copy.

But with the introduction of Nigel Farage back in July, everyone knew GB News was desperate to fill the void left by Neil.

“It just got worse and worse. At one stage, we were waiting to go on air and the whole system went down. It had to be rebooted and we only managed it with 15 seconds to spare,” Neil tells the Mail’s, Rebecca Hardy.

My admiration & respect for @afneil is only enriched after reading the Daily Mail piece.

Thank goodness for Susan's love & support.

Sometimes you have to get out.

You have your health & sanity intact.

And have lost nothing.

You remain the best broadcast interviewer there is.

— BBC Waste (@BBCwaste) September 24, 2021

“By the end of that first week, I knew I had to get out. It was really beginning to affect my health. I wasn’t sleeping. I was waking up at two or three in the morning.”

He continues, saying he didn’t care about the £4m contract: “This would have killed me if I’d carried on.”

A spokesperson for GB News also spoke to the Daily Mail, disagreeing with Neil’s lengthy statement.

“At no point did Andrew raise concerns of the editorial direction of GB News moving to the right. As with all companies, decision-making rests with the board, and GB News is no different.

Thank you, Andrew. When I wrote about you & GBNews earlier in the year, I could see what you wanted to do. It's a shame that this vision wasn't met. Keep going, and we'll look forward to seeing you holding politicians, etc. to account on our screens soon.https://t.co/5zWEcLUehN

— John Saleh Price (@johnsalehprice) September 24, 2021

“As a member of the board, Andrew had the same rights and abilities to raise concerns, and he was privy to all decisions.”

“Why pay me all that money? Why make me chairman?” Neil continues.

“Why make me lead presenter and then just not listen? So I’m angry that what should have been my last big media gig – which, if we’d made it work, could have been great – turned out to be the worst eight months of my career.”

You will. Big time. https://t.co/tbmCmtLeG1

— Andrew Neil (@afneil) September 24, 2021

But if Neil’s GB News was what they deemed ‘unbiased’ and ‘centrist’ then whatever eye-rolling content comes next might just turn the show into the UK’s FOX after all.