Richard Frediani is editor of BBC Breakfast. Known throughout the industry as ‘Fredi’, he studied journalism at the University of Central Lancashire before joining the county’s Red Rose Radio as a reporter. Moving to London, he climbed the current affairs ladder and switched to television, first at ITN then as head of news for ITV, before he returned to ITN and edited their early evening 6.30 pm bulletin. Fredi took the helm of BBC Breakfast last autumn, with the programme facing the aftermath of Naga Munchetty’s censure for remarks about President Trump. In this in-depth interview, he describes the role of the BBC in combating disinformation and ‘fake news’ amid the coronavirus pandemic, talks about the Breakfast show’s friendly rivalry with Piers Morgan and ‘Good Morning Britain’, and considers the way in which the most-watched breakfast programme in the country has set a distinctive tone for its audience, including in interviewing the Prime Minister.