Have I Got News For You host Amol Rajan's 'hellish struggle' for more kids
Amol Rajan, the host of University Challenge and Radio Four Today Programme, candidly spoke about his “hellish” journey to having more children. Earlier this year, the TV and radio star revealed that he and his wife Charlotte Faircloth were once told they wouldn't be able to have any more kids.
The 40 year old shared that they then embarked on an IVF journey that was “exhausting”, “really tough” and lasted for “years”. Now a father to four children under eight, Amol expressed gratitude for his family, acknowledging how 'extraordinarily blessed' they are. Speaking on the Comfort Eating podcast, the former BBC's media editor opened up about the 'hellish medical treatment' he and his wife underwent to expand their family while he was editor of The Independent.
Amol joined The Independent in 2007 and became its editor in 2013 at just 29. In 2016, he left the paper to become the BBC's media editor after being headhunted by James Harding, then the BBC's director of news and current affairs. He clarified on the podcast that the “medical treatment” he referred to was “IVF and all that”, adding: “We were told it wouldn't happen, that was the thing. There were years, and years, and years, and years, in which it was really tough and a struggle. There was a lot of that going on whilst I was at the BBC.”
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In 2013, Amol tied the knot with Charlotte – an academic who specialises in parenting, gender and reproduction. He revealed that his joining the BBC coincided with a “very major life change” being “that I became a parent. Suddenly it was not about me, and suddenly my priorities had changed.”
In other Have I Got News For You news, police are investigating a suspected gunshot that hit the window of a taxi carrying Ian Hislop, the editor of the satirical magazine Private Eye, in Soho, central London. The black cab driver reported to Scotland Yard that he was stuck in traffic just after 10am on Tuesday when he heard what sounded like a bullet hitting his vehicle. The incident took place on Dean Street, not far from Oxford Street and the Private Eye office.
Have I Got News For You star Ian, who has been at the helm of the publication known for its sharp wit and investigative journalism since 1986, and the cab driver were both unharmed, according to The Guardian. Police are actively investigating the shooting, with no clear motive yet determined.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police confirmed: "Police were called at 10.10am on Tuesday, 1 October to a report of a firearms discharge on Dean Street, Westminster. The driver of a London black taxi reported he was stationary in traffic when a shot was fired towards his vehicle, striking the window. There were no injuries. An investigation has been launched."
OK! contacted Ian's reps for comment, who had nothing further to add.
Following the incident, roads in the bustling tourist area of Soho were shut down on Tuesday while police conducted searches and reviewed CCTV footage. The father of two, who hails from Swansea in South Wales, is a familiar face on the BBC comedy quiz show Have I Got News For You. He's been a team captain since the show's inception in 1990, marking an impressive 34-year run.
Have I Got News For You returns this Friday on BBC One.
