Michael Buerk

In August 2019 it was reported that Buerk thought that the obese should be allowed to die an early death in order to save the NHS money. In an article in the Radio Times Buerk suggested allowing deaths due to obesity could be a benefit to society. He added, "See it as a selfless sacrifice in the fight against demographic imbalance, overpopulation and climate change."

In 2016, Buerk was critical of Emma Thompson, Benedict Cumberbatch, and other celebrity liberals. He said in an interview with Ross Kemp “I hate it when feather-bedded thesps pay flying visits to the desperate to parade their bleeding hearts and trumpet their infantile ideas on what 'must be done'. There's only so much of the Benedict and Emma worldview you can take."

Buerk has hosted BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze since 1990 and The Choice since 1998. On 22 October 2014, the BBC apologised for the language used in Buerk's early morning trail for that evening's Moral Maze in which he began: "Nobody comes out of the Ched Evans rape case with any credit – not the victim who'd drunk so much she could barely stand, nor the two footballers who had sex with her in the most sordid of circumstances." Katie Russell, from Rape Crisis England and Wales, accused him of practising "victim-blaming." She commented: "To infer that being drunk is in any way 'morally' comparable to committing the serious and violent crime of rape is deeply offensive."

Since July 2012, Buerk has co-presented ITV's Britain's Secret Treasures with Bettany Hughes, looking at fifty of the most remarkable archaeological finds made by the British public. On 6 October 2013, he began hosting Inside the National Trust, a new documentary series.

At the end of 2012, Buerk despaired of the state of Britain and of the BBC. Of the Corporation's coverage of the Thames River Pageant celebrating Britain and the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne, he wrote: "The Dunkirk Little Ships, the most evocative reminders of this country's bravest hour, were ignored so that a pneumatic bird-brain from Strictly Come Dancing could talk to transvestites in Battersea Park."

In 2010, Buerk narrated Sky1 reality show Pineapple Dance Studios. Buerk has also made five guest appearances on the BBC's The One Show in April and September 2010. He has also appeared as a fill-in presenter for Jason Manford on six occasions.

On 28 July 2007, Buerk appeared on a celebrity version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? with Jennie Bond to raise money for NCH, the children's charity. Between them they won £64,000. He is a supporter of the British Red Cross and in October 2008 came out in support of an alternative reality game, Traces of Hope, which the charity developed.

In August 2005, Buerk asserted in a Radio Times interview that the "shift in the balance of power between the sexes" has gone too far, we need to "admit the problem", and that men are now little more than "sperm donors". In particular, Buerk objected to the many women now in senior positions within the BBC. Former newsreader Anna Ford commented: "He's a dear old-fashioned chauvinist of the first order."

On the BBC's Children in Need, Buerk has performed several times along with an ensemble of BBC News presenters. In 2004, he dressed in leather to perform Duran Duran classics and in 2005, he sang Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".

Buerk announced his retirement from BBC News in 2002, though he said he would continue to host other programmes.

He later anchored the BBC Nine O'Clock News and BBC News at Ten. He read the bulletin at 0100 GMT on 1 January 2000, the first BBC News bulletin of the 2000s.

In 1991, Buerk was awarded an Honorary Degree (MA) by the University of Bath.

Buerk's reporting of the Ethiopian famine in October 1984 inspired the Band Aid charity record and, subsequently, the Live Aid concerts. His report is regarded as a watershed moment in crisis reporting that influenced modern coverage.

From 1983 to 1987, Buerk was the BBC's South Africa correspondent during the dying years of apartheid in South Africa. Buerk's uncompromising reports on the brutalities of the regime resulted in the South African government expelling him from the country after four years in the post.

He is an actor, known for Nine O'Clock News (1970), The Crown (2016) and Pineapple Dance Studios (2010).

Michael Buerk was born on February 18, 1946 in Solihull, Warwickshire, England as Michael Duncan Buerk.