Jeremy Paxman Quotes

The early bird may get the worm, but its the second mouse that gets the cheese.

Scepticism is a necessary and vital part of the journalist's toolkit. But when scepticism becomes cynicism it can close off thought and block the search for truth.

It's not just politicians. Any spokesman for a vested interest is well schooled in how to say what it is they wish to say, which may bear no relation at all to what you've asked them.

Television bosses should stop insulting the public's intelligence by assuming we are all idiots.

The defining problem of contemporary television is trust: Can you believe what you see on television, does television treat people fairly, is it healthy for society?

Sharing holiday snaps on social media is an act of arrogant vanity.

It seems to me that the way to remove people's cynicism is, when asked a straight question, to give a straight answer.

I got fed up of listening to bollocks

I hate the word 'sneering', I can't help the way my face looks.

I've always thought you have to live life looking forwards, not backwards. I've had no interest at all in who my ancestors are.

I voted against Gerald Nabarro in my first general election, but my defiance made no difference. If you had put a Conservative rosette on a mustachioed hamster, it would have been elected.

[Cycling] is easily the quickest way around central London, faster than bus, Tube or taxi. You can predict precisely how long every journey will take, regardless of traffic jams, Tube strikes or leaves on the line. It provides excellent exercise. It does not pollute the atmosphere. It does not clog up the streets.

I have not a clue why they sent it to me. As far as I know I have not got a reputation as a receiver of stolen goods.

I've spent my whole life being told I have a face like a horse. You are just what you are, aren't you?

The idea of a tax on the ownership of a television belongs in the 1950s. Why not tax people for owning a washing machine to fund the manufacture of Persil?

The cure for cynicism is simply to engage honestly.

The English approach to ideas is not to kill them, but to let them die of neglect.

It would be unforgivable to use the role I have, such as it is, to inflict my incoherent, half-baked view of the world on people. That would be illegitimate and unacceptable and I should be fired.

It's stupid to have a simple-minded view.

Has there ever been a visitor to Ludlow who hasn't wished they lived there?

Ones teachers all belonged to that generation who were imperialists, and the whole narrative throughout my adolescence was of countries leaving the empire. I find it extraordinary that this purpose which drove how we viewed the world is now considered to be something that has no effect upon us.

At work people are expected to be at the beck and call of employers all the time. You have blackberries and other things, and they just don't leave you alone. People have less time just to drop into an art gallery.

I find it odd that people take me seriously.

I've always felt myself to be an outsider. I've always felt awkward.

At last someone takes me seriously.