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Jeremy Paxman

Paxman responds to beard reaction, revealing that he may keep it

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By Stephen Lepitak, -

August 14, 2013 | 2 min read

Jeremy Paxman has issued a press statement to say that he may decide to keep the beard that saw the Newsnight presenter trending as a topic on Twitter on Monday night.

Paxman seems to have broken an unspoken rule in television presenting by growing a beard, with few in the UK or even the US fronting a programme with facial hair.

Paxman moved to release the statement after his appearance caused uproar through social media.

He said: "I have grown a beard for the last few summers, and suddenly wondered whether I really needed to shave it off to present Newsnight.

"Unless you're lucky enough to be Uncle Albert on Only Fools and Horses, Demis Roussos or Abu Hamza, the BBC is generally as pognophobic as the late-lamented Albanian dictator, Enver Hoxha.

"I may keep it or I may shave it off, but I think I'll make my own decision."

In response, his Newsnight colleague Emily Maitlis said: "Right that's it. I'm working on a moustache for Thursday's newsnight.(sic)"

In 2010, while presenting The One Show, Adrian Chiles grew a beard, to mixed reaction, which he eventually shaved off for Sport Relief live on TV after he was warned by that it was 'inconsistent' with his role on the show.

In response, Chiles was defended by famous beard wearers such as Noel Edmonds, Justin Lee Collins and David Bellamy.

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