Nothing says Christmas quite like our review of the year.
We compiled our now-traditional list of the best and worst interviews of 2025.
And media interview experts Victoria Smith and Adam Fisher – together with an array of tutors from our brilliant training team – shared their thoughts and expertise during our final complimentary webinar of the year.
But who delivered a Christmas cracker? And who produced a bit of a turkey?
Our first good media interview of the year came from Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, after he placed Pentonville in special measures.
“This was a tough, dry subject,” Adam said.
“But it is brought to life with brilliant visual storytelling.
“He takes you on a journey, and you can see what the prison must look like inside. The idea of an inmate having half a mattress is something that has really stuck with me.
“It feels so bleak.”
These were views shared by Mark McQuillan, one of our expert tutors.
He said: “This is a powerful interview. He uses descriptive language that draws the audience in and makes them want to hear more.
“He gets his point across that action and change are needed by using people rather than policy at the heart of his storytelling.”
Our first bad example was provided by Lord Falconer.
It came when he appeared on Sky News to discuss the Assisted Dying Bill.
But the interview began to fall apart when the journalist asked about another big story.
“This is a remarkable interview when you consider the experience of the spokesperson involved,” Adam said.
“The Assisted Dying Bill he wanted to talk about is a massive story. But it was not the big story of the day – that was Lord Mandelson being sacked as the ambassador to the US.
“The journalist had to ask about that, and Lord Falconer should have been prepared for questions on that subject.
“The great irony of this interview is that he says at one point he wants the focus to be on assisted dying. But because of his approach to the Lord Mandelson question, that becomes the focus.”
Using the media training bridging technique here would have been crucial.
“Acknowledge the question and then move on,” Victoria said. “Even if it is just to say, ‘Lord Mandelson is a friend, and I haven't had a chance to speak to him’, before bridging back to his message.”
Let’s see what another member of our media training team thinks.
“It was a strange approach,” Chris Maughan said.
“Lord Falconer is experienced and must have expected he would be asked about he topical story of the day.
“By refusing to talk about that, he looks defensive and evasive. And other media outlets quickly pounced on the story and described it as a car crash or embarrassing.
“He should have been able to navigate this situation much better.”
Our next example came during a turbulent time at Heathrow Airport.
A power outage caused by a fire at a nearby electricity substation led to more than 270,000 disrupted air passenger journeys.
When the airport’s CEO Thomas Woldbye appeared on Radio 4’s Today programme, he faced a question many bosses face during a crisis media management incident – and it did not go well.
Adam said: “You can’t respond to a ‘should you keep your job’ question with ‘no comment’.
“It’s so defensive and makes it look like he’s trying to hide from the question.
“Ultimately, there is always something you can say. Acknowledge the question and then bridge to get back to the message you want to get across.”
Victoria added: “In the German media, a ‘no comment’ is considered fine. But it is different in the UK.”
Mike Pearce, another one of our expert tutors, was not impressed either. “For me, this lacked any compassion.
“At the start, he should have said ‘We are sorry for the disruption’, outlined what the airport is doing and offered some reassurance to delayed passengers.
“’No comment’ are two words you should always avoid saying. There’s always something you can say, some reassurance and compassion you can give.”
Let’s head to the world of football for our next interview.
Ange Postecoglou was the Tottenham manager at the time.
His team were on a bad run and had just lost to Everton.
When he faced the media after the final whistle, he took offence at the way the opening question was framed.
Adam said: “He takes the question personally, and that gets his back up.
“If I was a Tottenham fan, I would have wanted him to be less defensive and offer more to the interview – you have to think about the audience.
“The other thing about this clip is that he spent the whole time looking at his shoes. There is no eye contact, and it adds to the impression he doesn’t want to be there and feels under pressure.”
Shall we have another good example?
It came from Greg Jackson, the boss of Octopus Energy, when he appeared on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg - you can watch it in full here.
“This was a panel discussion,” Adam said.
“And that can be a tricky format because there are other people competing with you for airtime and attention.
“They tend to cover a lot of ground, and a range of different topics are brought into the conversation.”
“It was interesting to see how Laura Kuenssberg stopped and listened because he told a good story and used words like ‘I’, ‘I see’ and ‘I went’, Victoria said.
Adam added: “You can see the other guests are drawn into what he says because they are nodding along as he speaks.
“His passion and storytelling seem to resonate with everyone in the room.”
What did Chris Maughan make of this one?
“The Octopus Energy CEO brings energy, positivity and storytelling into his communication," he said.
“It would have been easy for his contributions to be lost sitting alongside two other guests.
“But his stories and anecdotes added value. And his animated style was effective.
“In the short time available on a flagship show, he had impact and landed his messages.”
“This is probably my vote for the worst interview of the year,” Adam said about our next example.
It came from Emma Reynolds, the Treasury minister, when she appeared on LBC as part of the morning round of interviews.
Adam added: “The morning round is tricky because a member of the government is doing a series of broadcast interviews one after the other, and typically a lot of ground is covered.
“The thing with this particular interview was that she didn’t seem to know the detail of the subject she set out to talk about.”
“Nick Ferrari is a tough interviewer, but I think she should have known that,” Victoria said.
“He is aggressive. He does ask tough questions.”
Adam added: “Part of media interview preparation should involve knowing who you are talking to.
“We’ve seen many examples over the years of politicians being torn apart by Nick Ferrari. She should have known he would be all over the details.
Let’s get a little more analysis from Mike Pearce.
“This was a total car crash,” he said.
“There had clearly been no planning, and I suspect the minister hadn’t even read the press release.
“To go into an interview so unprepared was just awful
“She seemed haphazard and didn’t have any authority or control.
“The other lesson is that although this is a radio interview, many radio interviews are now videoed or livestreamed. So, you have to bear in mind it is a radio and video interview.”
Our next interview clip also features a politician.
Lilian Greenwood’s interview began to crumble because of her use of vague, abstract terms.
Adam said: “When the journalist asked what the terms meant – or to give more details – she started to struggle.
“They are terms she has probably been told to use. But there didn’t seem to be any substance behind them when the journalists probed.”
“This is an interview that highlights the importance of having real-life examples and stories and meaningful statistics to hand,” Adam said.
Let’s find out what Mark McQuillan thought.
“This is an example of where there is a topical story or people are talking about something – like this modest income aspect – you need to prepare a decent response that justifies your position with a compelling example.
“Going in with a vague answer, or one lacking in details, will likely lead to follow-up responses from the interviewer, making it more challenging.”
The other interesting aspect of this interview is that Lillian’s colleague - Darren Jones - had struggled when using the same vague terms in an interview the previous day.
“That should have been picked up and used in the briefing so the approach to this interview could be adapted,” Adam said.
Our next example takes us across the Atlantic.
Katie Porter is not well-known in the UK.
But she is one of the front-runners to become the next governor of California.
Like the other candidates, she sat down for an interview with CBS.
And it went viral for all the wrong reasons.
“It’s so awkward,” Adam said.
“You have to watch it from behind your hands.
“The interesting thing is this was a 20-minute interview, but it was this three-minute clip that grabbed all the attention and went viral.
“And that’s because it is so argumentative and dramatic.”
Let’s get Chris’s Maughan’s thoughts on this one.
“As a high-flying politician in a democracy, she must expect to face questions that she may not enjoy or like the way they are framed.
“As well as retaining her composure, which she didn’t appear to do here, there are techniques she could have employed to draw the sting from the questions.
“Using the bridging technique could have helped convince voters she is the right choice.”
Not only did the interview go viral and dominate the news cycle, but it also dredged up episodes from the past that may question Ms Porter’s temperament.
A video, reportedly shot in July 2021, resurfaced that shows the then congresswoman discussing electric vehicles with Jennifer Granholm, who was the US Energy Secretary at the time.
In the footage, Ms Porter breaks off from speaking to Porter to shout at a staffer: “Get out of my f***ing shot... You also were in my shot before that. Stay out of my shot.”
Adam said: “With the interview and then the release of subsequent video, this narrative builds about the politician’s temperament.
“So, it was a disastrous interview on many levels.”
Last, but by no means least, we have David Parry.
And we are particularly proud of this one, as David had his media training with us.
The senior parliamentary and public affairs officer at the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) appeared on BBC Breakfast to discuss the organisation’s report on mental health in the built environment.
“Appearing on BBC Breakfast is daunting even for an experienced spokesperson with lots of broadcast interviews under their belt.
“When I spoke to David about this interview for one of our media training blogs, he told me he was an ‘accidental interviewee’. What he meant by that was that the report was based on was produced by a colleague who was not available.
“So, he stepped in. And he did a great job. He was calm and composed, and he delivered some great storytelling.”
Victoria said: “David told me that one of the things that made him feel nervous was that this was a down-the-line interview, so he was just looking into a camera.
“He thought he would be able to see the presenter. But all he could see was a BBC logo, which was a surprise.”
Let’s find out what Mike Pearce thought.
“This is an example of someone doing really well in an interview,” he said.
“Sometimes, these less confrontational interviews are more difficult because you have to think of more things to say.
“What brought it to life was the examples.
“David came across well, sounded in control and had passion and authority.”
Why have we had more examples of bad interviews than good this year?
“I don’t think it means there are more bad interviews taking place,” Adam said.
“It is often easier to find bad examples.
“If a politician goes on TV or radio and gets it wrong, other media pick it up and run ‘car crash interview’ stories.
“But when a politician does a good interview, you don’t get the same media reporting ‘politician gives good interview’. It doesn’t trend on social media.
“If a spokesperson does something dramatic, like the Katie Porter interview, that will always grab attention and get lots of people talking.”
Our webinar audience voted for Emma Reynolds as the worst interview of the year.
And the best interview crown was narrowly secured by Charlie Taylor.
What will 2026 bring?
The Media First blog is the best place to find out.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with nearly 40 years of experience.
We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
Click here to find out more about our media training courses.