{{Short description|Journalist}} '''Charlotte Edwardes''' is an English newspaper journalist. She has worked at ''The Spectator'', ''The Telegraph'', the ''Evening Standard'', ''The Times'', and ''The Guardian'', where she has been an interviewer since 2023. She has won interviewer of the year at multiple press awards.
==Education== Edwardes wrote her postgraduate thesis on Hezbollah.<ref name="StandardWorking"/> She has an MFA in creative writing from New York University.<ref name="About"/> She is studying for a PhD at the University of East Anglia.<ref name="UEA"/>
==Career==
Edwardes spent a decade as a reporter at ''The Telegraph''.<ref name="PressGazetteTimes"/> In December 2001, she interviewed Osama bin Laden's half-brother Abdullah.<ref name="BinLadens"/> In 2004, Edwardes wrote a piece for the newspaper that said that, based on a script before the film was made, Ridley Scott's ''Kingdom of Heaven'' "panders to Osama Bin Laden". Critic Hamid Dabashi described this response to a then-unmade film as "Very strange, indeed".<ref name="VisualCulture"/> In 2005, Edwardes and her ''Sunday Telegraph'' colleague Daniel Foggo were finalists for the Outstanding Investigative Reporting Prize at the ICIJ awards for their reporting on illegal abortion.<ref name="Infoplease"/> They were also runners-up for the ''Private Eye''/''Guardian'' Paul Foot Award the same year.<ref name="GuardianPaulFoot"/><ref name="BBCPaulFoot"/>
She was a feature writer and chief interviewer at the ''Evening Standard'' from 2012,<ref name="PressGazetteTimes"/> for which she won the 2016 and 2017 Press Award for Interviewer of the Year (Pop).<ref name="InPublishing17"/><ref name="InPublishing18"/> She was diary editor of The Londoner for ''The Evening Standard'' for over a year before being replaced by Ayesha Hazarika in July 2019, remaining as senior feature writer and columnist.<ref name="PressGazetteDiary"/>
While at the ''Evening Standard'', she also freelanced for ''The Times'' and ''Tatler''. In May 2016, when interviewing cricketer Chris Gayle for ''The Times'', he made what were reported as lewd and sexist comments.<ref name="Wisden"/><ref name="GuardianGayle"/>
Soon after leaving the ''Standard'', she joined ''The Sunday Times'' as an assistant editor and columnist for its ''Style'' magazine, in September 2019.<ref name="PressGazetteTimes"/> At ''The Times'' and ''Sunday Times'', Edwardes was a features writer, interviewer, and columnist for over three years.<ref name="GuardianSaturday"/> That same month, Edwardes accused the then-Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson in her ''Sunday Times'' column of groping her thigh and that of another woman at a lunch in 1999 when she worked for him at ''The Spectator'', which he denied. She was supported by Conservative MPs Matt Hancock and Amber Rudd.<ref name="StatesmanRudd"/><ref name="GuardianJohnson"/><ref name="BusinessInsider"/> In 2020, Edwardes was highly commended at the Press Awards for her political interviews.<ref name="SocietyofEditorsAwards"/> In 2021, she was shortlisted as Interviewer of the Year at the British Journalism Awards for her ''Times'' interviews with Robert Webb, Joey Essex, and Kit Harington.<ref name="PressGazette2021"/>
She joined ''The Guardian'''s Saturday magazine as an interviewer in January 2023.<ref name="GuardianSaturday"/><ref name="PressGazetteGuardian"/> In 2025, Edwardes was highly commended at the 2024 Press Awards for her in-depth interviews, including with Keir Starmer,<ref name="GuardianPressAwards25"/> Gary Lineker, and Jeremy Clarkson.<ref name="PressAwardsShortlist24"/> She was shortlisted as Interviewer of the Year - Broadsheet at the 2025 Press Awards for her ''Guardian'' interviews with David Lammy, Kieran Culkin, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.<ref name="PressAwards2026"/><ref name="GuardianPressAwards26"/><ref name="PressAwardsShortlist25"/>
Her debut novel ''Trouble Was'' will be published in July 2026 by Bloomsbury.<ref name="Bloomsbury"/>
==Personal life== Edwardes has children including a daughter.<ref name="StandardWorking"/> Her partner since 2017 is broadcast journalist Robert Peston, who she worked with at ''The Telegraph'' in 2003 and met again at a Christmas party. They live together in London.<ref name="BBCPeston"/><ref name="iPaper"/>
==References== <references>
<ref name="StandardWorking">{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/comment/comment/my-talk-on-life-as-a-working-mother-and-journalist-was-an-eyeopening-experience-for-my-daughter-a4088076.html|title=My talk on life as a working mother and journalist was an eye-opening experience — for my daughter|work=The Standard|date=11 March 2019|last=Edwardes|first=Charlotte}}</ref>
<ref name="VisualCulture">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=P5iaEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT433|page=433|title=Contemporary Art, World Cinema, and Visual Culture: Essays by Hamid Dabashi|first=Hamid|last=Dabashi|publisher=Anthem Press|editor= Hamid Keshmirshekan|date=29 March 2019|chapter =14. Warriors of Faith|isbn=9781783089215}}</ref>
<ref name="Wisden">{{cite news|url=https://www.wisden.com/cricket-features/the-ten-infamous-interviews-from-its-not-easy-being-me-to-a-rageful-ravi|title=The Ten: Infamous interviews – From 'It's not easy being me' to a rageful Ravi|first=Will|last=Macpherson|date=2016}}</ref>
<ref name="StatesmanRudd">{{cite news|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2019/09/amber-rudd-and-matt-hancock-wont-be-last-rally-support-charlotte-edwardes|title=Amber Rudd and Matt Hancock won't be the last to rally in support of Charlotte Edwardes|date=29 September 2019|last=Rhe|first=Ailbhe|work=New Statesman}}</ref>
<ref name="Infoplease">{{cite web|url=https://www.infoplease.com/awards/literature/2005-icij-awards|title=2005 ICIJ Awards|work=Infoplease}}</ref>
<ref name="GuardianPaulFoot">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/oct/08/pressandpublishing.uknews|title=Shortlist for inaugural Paul Foot Award|first=Paul|last=Lewis|date=8 October 2005}}</ref>
<ref name="BBCPaulFoot">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/4341090.stm|title=Scurrilious magazine scoops top award|first=Dickon|last=Hooper|work=BBC News, Bristol|date=14 October 2005}}</ref>
<ref name="Bloomsbury">{{cite web|url=https://issuu.com/bloomsburypublishing/docs/new_adult_consumer_titles_july_-_december_2026|title=New Adult Consumer Titles July - December 2026|date=5 March 2026|work=Bloomsbury Publishing}}</ref>
<ref name="GuardianPressAwards25">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/may/23/mossad-investigation-guardian-uk-press-awards|title=Mossad investigation among Guardian prizes at UK Press Awards|first=Michael|last= Savage|date= 23 May 2025|work=The Guardian}}</ref>
<ref name="SocietyofEditorsAwards">{{cite web|url=https://www.societyofeditors.org/events/national-press-awards-for-2020/gallery-of-winners/|title=Congratulations to the winners of the Press Awards for 2020|work=Society of Editors|date=2020}}</ref>
<ref name="PressAwards2026">{{cite web|url=https://www.thepressawards.com/shortlist-1|title=Shortlist|work=The Press Awards|access-date=13 March 2026}}</ref>
<ref name="GuardianPressAwards26">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/12/guardian-nominated-more-than-20-honours-2026-press-awards|title=Guardian nominated for more than 20 honours at 2026 Press Awards|first=Caroline|last=Davies|date= 12 February 2026|work=The Guardian}}</ref>
<ref name="InPublishing17">{{cite web|url=https://www.inpublishing.co.uk/articles/press-awards-2016-winners-announced-3503|title=Press Awards 2016 – winners announced|date=15 March 2017|work=InPublishing}}</ref>
<ref name="InPublishing18">{{cite web|url=https://www.inpublishing.co.uk/articles/national-press-awards-winners-announced-2644|title=National Press Awards – winners announced|date=14 March 2018|work=InPublishing}}</ref>
<ref name="PressGazette2021">{{cite news|url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/best-journalism-of-2021-revealed-british-journalism-awards-shortlists/|title=British Journalism Awards shortlists 2021: Proof journalism matters and does make a difference|work=Press Gazette|date=4 November 2021}}</ref>
<ref name="PressAwardsShortlist24">{{cite news|url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/press-gazette-events/british-journalism-awards-2024-full-list-of-this-years-finalists/|title=British Journalism Awards 2024: Full list of this year's finalists|date=24 October 2024|first=Bron|last=Maher|work=Press Gazette}}</ref>
<ref name="PressAwardsShortlist25">{{cite news|url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/press-gazette-events/british-journalism-awards-shortlist-2025/|title=British Journalism Awards 2025: Finalists revealed|first= Charlotte|last=Tobitt|date=23 October 2025}}</ref>
<ref name="BBCPeston">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45617514|title=Robert Peston's 'guilt' at finding love after wife's death|date=23 September 2018|work=BBC News}}</ref>
<ref name="GuardianGayle">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/may/20/chris-gayle-sexism-allegations-interview-times|title=Chris Gayle could face more sexism allegations after latest interview|date=20 May 2016|work=The Guardian|first=Ali|last=Martin}}</ref>
<ref name="GuardianJohnson">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/29/no-10-denies-claims-boris-johnson-squeezed-thigh-journalist-charlotte-edwardes|title=No 10 denies claims Boris Johnson groped Sunday Times journalist|first1=Kate|last1= Proctor|first2= Heather|last2= Stewart|date=29 September 2019|work=The Guardian}}</ref>
<ref name="BusinessInsider">{{cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-accused-of-groping-thigh-by-charlotte-edwardes-2019-9 |title=Journalist accuses Boris Johnson of groping her thigh, and another woman's, at a drunken lunch while he was her boss|first1=Adam|last1=Bienkov|first2= Kieran|last2=Corcoran|work=Business Insider|date=29 September 2019}}</ref>
<ref name="GuardianSaturday">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/gnm-press-office/2023/jan/19/charlotte-edwardes-joins-guardian-saturday-magazine-as-new-interviewer|author=GNM press office|title=Charlotte Edwardes joins Guardian Saturday magazine as new interviewer|date=19 Jan 2023|work=The Guardian}}</ref>
<ref name="PressGazetteTimes">{{cite news|url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/evening-standards-charlotte-edwardes-moves-to-sunday-times/|title=Evening Standard's Charlotte Edwardes moves to Sunday Times|first=Charlotte|last=Tobitt|date=27 September 2019|work=Press Gazette}}</ref>
<ref name="iPaper">{{cite news|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/media/robert-peston-itv-guilty-new-love-charlotte-edwardes-evening-standard-200541|title=Robert Peston reveals he felt 'desperately guilty' about finding love after his wife's death|first=Florence|last= Snead|work=The i Paper|date=23 September 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="PressGazetteGuardian">{{cite news|url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/the-wire/media-jobs-uk-news/charlotte-edwardes-the-guardian/|title=The Times' Charlotte Edwardes joins The Guardian Saturday magazine|work=Press Gazette|date=19 January 2023|first=Bron|last=Maher}}</ref>
<ref name="UEA">{{cite web|url=https://research-portal.uea.ac.uk/en/persons/charlotte-edwardes/|title=Charlotte Edwardes|work=UEA}}</ref>
<ref name="About">{{cite web|url=https://www.charlotteedwardes.com/about|title=About|work=Charlotte Edwardes}}</ref>
<ref name="PressGazetteDiary">{{cite news|url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/former-labour-adviser-ayesha-hazarika-joins-evening-standard-as-londoner-diary-editor/|title=Former Labour adviser Ayesha Hazarika joins Evening Standard as Londoner diary editor|first= James|last=Walker|date=19 July 2019}}</ref>
<ref name="BinLadens">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=rFNSVahp4EQC&pg=PT292|page=292|title=The Bin Ladens: Oil, Money, Terrorism and the Secret Saudi World|first=Steve|last= Coll|isbn=9780141036489|date=5 March 2009|publisher= Penguin Adult}}</ref>
</references>
==External links== * {{official website|https://www.charlotteedwardes.com/}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwardes, Charlotte}} Category:The Guardian journalists Category:London Evening Standard people Category:Living people Category:The Times journalists Category:The Spectator people Category:The Daily Telegraph people Category:English women journalists Category:English newspaper journalists Category:New York University alumni Category:Year of birth missing (living people)