TAMA MURU

It’s a common posture for a television producer: on the phone, pacing up and down. As his flat white (from a nearby place that serves coffee “like you’d expect back home”) cools on his desk, Tama Muru has his mobile pressed to his ear, walking his Hardtalk presenter through the technicalities ahead of an interview the next day with Istanbul’s new mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, who wrested the job from the Turkish president’s party.

This time it’s Zeinab Badawi on the other end of the phone. A long-time BBC presenter, she’s standing in for Stephen Sackur, who’s fronted the BBC’s half-hour interview programme for the best part of 15 years. That’s a long time, but not as long as Muru’s been involved, convincing newsmakers to come on the show, writing briefs, outlining questions and conducting recorded interviews in a BBC studio or out in the field.

He’s been on board for nearly 19 years, starting as a producer in the BBC World newsroom as part of the “Kiwi Mafia” that filled out the 24-hour news channel’s staff rota, then moving into the office as casual cover. The editor liked him, he loved the job, so he’s stayed and its sports version, . Today, Muru is the most senior producer on the team, meaning he’s pretty much the editor’s top pick to organise and orchestrate interviews in salubrious or security-compromised locations all around the world.