Emily Maitlis has revealed Dominic Cummings texted her a message of support after her Newsnight monologue.
The BBC presenter received thousands of complaints after she introduced the programme with a summing up of the PM's chief adviser's lockdown row.
Cummings came under fire for making trips during lockdown to his parents home in Durham, more than 240 miles away from his London home.
READ MORE: Emily Maitlis addresses public after missing Newsnight following BBC criticism of Cummings coverage
The BBC said the Newsnight episode “did not meet our standards of due impartiality”, while its head of news, Fran Unsworth, said it belonged “more on the op-ed page in a newspaper”.
However, Maitlis has now told Tatler magazine that Cummings “sent me a text of support”.
“It was peak surreal getting a message of support from him in the middle of all the crazy stuff,” she said.
In the monologue, Maitlis said the Prime Minister’s chief adviser had “broken the rules” and “the country can see that, and it’s shocked the Government cannot”.
Maitlis said she had more support from viewers after the controversy than she did following her interview with the Duke of York.
“I think that was the biggest I’ve had – more than Andrew, more than anything. I was overwhelmed by it,” she said.
“I wasn’t expecting such a flood of warmth.”
Maitlis said Andrew “was very pleased” after the interview.
READ MORE: Emily Maitlis: BBC release statement over Newsnight episode
“He was actually so generous with his time. He took us on a tour of the extraordinary corridor of Buckingham Palace, he pointed out the statues, the staircases and where the Queen has her audiences with prime ministers.
“He said to me, ‘Next time you come, we’ll talk about Prince Albert. He was the entrepreneur of the family’.”
The full feature is in the September issue of Tatler available via digital download and newsstands on Thursday July 30.
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