Fiona Bruce Quotes

"My own valuation moment: When I started 'Antiques Roadshow,' John Benjamin looked at my engagement ring, which is Victorian. I sat there as a visitor would and he dated it, talked me through the stone, which is an opal, and which mine it would have been from."

"I love 'The Master And Margarita' by Mikhail Bulgakov, which is about repression in Soviet Russia in the 1930s."

"I conquered my phobia of camping, although I doubt I'll be pitching my tent at a muddy festival any time soon."

"To me it's always been a no-brainer. Maybe I'm just simplistic about it, but if you believe in equality of opportunity, and want to champion equality of opportunity, that makes you a feminist."

"With two older brothers, I was a tomboy in one sense, but on the other hand I really loved dolls. My brothers weren't very happy when I nicked their Action Men to play with my dolls and they were appalled when I made them kiss my Barbies."

"My Duke of Edinburgh interview for his 90th in June 2011 was not one of my successes. I knew what to expect: there were some very uncomfortable moments and put-downs, but I think it made for entertaining viewing."

"I was born in Singapore, but I left at four so memories are hazy."

"On 'Question Time,' I've noticed great anger from the audience. When we discuss Brexit, emotions range from white-hot fury to cold, grey apathy. As soon as we move off Brexit, debate is much more nuanced and considered."

"My kids once said, 'What would you do if you hadn't got us?' I replied, 'I'd be more successful and I'd have more friends, but I wouldn't be as happy.'"

"You can't beat a good millefeuille, which is basically a posh custard slice. Yum!"

"I don't know anything about antiques. I do buy them now, but I have a little knowledge, and great enthusiasm."

"Most visitors to Iceland tend to spend just a few hours in Reykjavik before moving on to the geological wonders beyond. I think they are missing out."

"Thailand was a revelation to me; the landscapes, the culture, the food and the people."

"I am a simple soul."

"In my twenties, I was virulently opposed to anyone commenting on my appearance, lest it come at the expense of my ability."

"Brexit can tend to be a dialogue of the deaf."

"I think having a healthy distrust of authority is a good thing, within certain parameters, obviously."

"The best thing, on 'Question Time,' is when the reality confronts the rhetoric."

"I had done debate programmes before and quite often you go into them thinking: 'I might need to build some energy in the room.' 'On Question Time,' the reverse is true. A lot of the time, I am just trying to not have it turn into a slanging match."

"I think of myself as a journalist first and foremost."

"I'm all for a passionate debate, and sometimes things can be heated, which is fine, up to a point. As long as we remember that we are human beings."

"Antiques Roadshow' is a public service. It reflects the nation back to itself, as does 'Question Time.'"

"If you take over a programme from a longstanding incumbent, not everyone's going to like it."

"Antiques Roadshow' was the first job I had taken since my children were born that took me away from them consistently over a period of time. That was a big adjustment for all of us."

"Family is the priority. Your job never loves you back, that's the way I look at it."

"I'm all about the story. And the stories I remember tend to be the ones of sorrow, or family history, or revelation of the self."

"I'm used to doing a lot of live broadcasting."

"Question Time' had been on my fantasy bucket list for some time. Of all the jobs in broadcasting that's the job I knew I wanted to do."

"I'm not tough. I'm just not a retiring violet when it comes to airing my opinions."

"I'm always disappointed by women who say they prefer working with men. What is that all about? I love working with women, I love the company of women."