Sir Trevor McDonald – who is on Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh this weekend (Sunday, July 21) – once opened up about his relationship with alcohol.
The star has previously admitted to struggling with binge drinking, confessing “it’s never one glass”.
Sir Trevor McDonald on ‘problem’ with alcohol
Back in 2008, Sir Trevor spoke to Decanter magazine.
The now 84-year-old newsreader admitted in the candid interview that his biggest issue with alcohol was binge drinking.
“The problem with that is that it’s never just a glass. I get home at 11pm and then look at my watch and it’s approaching midnight and I’m on my fourth glass,” he said.
The veteran TV star then went on to explain that the problem was exacerbated by a drinking culture within TV at the time. This was at a time that high alcohol consumption wasn’t considered a warning sign.
Sir Trevor McDonald on binge drinking
The star then continued: “I discovered how quickly your stocks dwindle when you’re home in the evenings.”
Sir Trevor then went on to say that in the 1970s, day drinking was considered normal. He also claimed it was considered normal for staff to spend hours at the pub during the working day.
“There was as bar across the street and most people could be found there day and night. My co-anchor Reggie Bosanquet had to be dragged out at five minutes to 10 and persuaded to sit down. How we used to carry on working I’ll never know,” he said.
Life and career
Sir Trevor first began his TV career with ITV in the 1970s as a reporter. At the time, he was ITV’s first black reporter.
In the 1980s, he moved to Channel 4 News, however, he was back at ITV by 1989.
In 1992, he became the sole host of ITV’s News At Ten, becoming a well-known face on British TV. He stayed in the role until the programme’s axing in 1999.
Between 1999 and 2007, he hosted Tonight with Trevor McDonald for ITV.
In 2008, he announced he would be retiring from News at Ten. He has since presented a range of documentaries, including one last year about Windrush.
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Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh airs from 9.30am on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday, July 21.
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