The clock is ticking and you need a quote – the fraught world of celebrity interviews

As journalists, we know what headlines and quotes we are looking for. It’s scary when you feel you aren’t getting anywhere, writes Charlotte Cripps

Rita Ora, singer and judge on ‘The Masked Singer’

(Getty)

It’s not often you get invited into somebody’s home when you’re interviewing them – but it happened to me recently with Rita Ora, who was promoting ITV’s The Masked Singer on which she is a judge.

It was a blessing and a curse. After three hours – including her mum cooking us supper – I had so much good material, I didn’t know where to begin. Not all interviews produce gold dust so easily.

In other interviews, I’ve had people eating crisp sandwiches, making the first 10 minutes inaudible, and opening the door to a postman, only to disappear for ages because their dog bit him.