| Katie Razzall | |
| Birth Name: | Katherine Mary Razzall |
| Birth Date: | 31 October 1970 |
| Birth Place: | Wandsworth, London, England |
| Education: | University of Oxford (BA) |
| Occupation: | Journalist |
| Years Active: | 1998–present |
| Children: | 1 |
| Father: | Tim Razzall, Baron Razzall |
Katherine Mary Razzall (born 31 October 1970) is an English journalist and television newsreader. She currently works for BBC News as its media editor and culture editor, having previously been a Newsnight reporter.
Razzall was born in Wandsworth, London, daughter of the British Liberal Democrat politician and parliamentarian Lord Razzall and his first wife, Elizabeth Christina (née Wilkinson); they separated when Katie was about three years old.[1] She has a younger brother, James.[2] She was educated at the University of Oxford where she studied philosophy and modern languages at Pembroke College.[3]
Razzall started her career on an ITN traineeship[3] before working for Channel 4 News as a reporter in 2000.[4] [5] After 14 years at Channel 4,[3] Newsnight hired Razzall as a special correspondent in January 2014.[6] In May 2019, Newsnight promoted Razzall to UK editor.[7] She presented Newsnight while standing in for the programme's former main host Emily Maitlis in May 2020 during the scandal over Dominic Cummings.[8] She continues to occasionally act as stand-in presenter on Newsnight.
On 29 July 2021, it was announced that in November of the same year, Razzall would take the place of BBC News' arts editor Will Gompertz in the new role of its culture editor.[9] In January 2023, she succeeded Amol Rajan as the BBC's media editor, whilst retaining her role as the culture editor.
In 2016, Razzall interviewed Omar Badreddin as part of BBC Newsnight's To hell and back: the story of a Syrian family given refuge in the UK[10] which documented the family's 11-month journey from Syria to Newcastle as part of the Syrian refugee resettlement program. During the production, Badreddin – then aged 18 – was accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year old girl. Razzall interviewed the Badreddin family about the trial and commented that "The Syrian men in many ways appeared less sexually experienced than the girls they were supposed to have attacked." Viewers of the programme were unhappy with this editorialization and equated the comment to victim blaming. [11] In the aftermath, Omar Badreddin and his brother Mohamed, along with two others, were handed a combined 38.5-year sentence for the rape of a 13-year-old girl abused between August 2018 and April 2019. [12]
Razzall has been married to the actor Oliver Milburn since 18 December 2004.[13] The couple were honeymooning in Sri Lanka when the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami struck.[13] They have a daughter.[14] Previously, Razzall dated Milburn's friend, the actor Damian Lewis.[15]
Razzall featured on the song "" by English rock band Muse, reading out words written by the lead singer, guitarist and lyricist Matt Bellamy.[16]