Paul Yarrow
The UK's "Spectator Emperor"
"I'm here, this is me. I apologize for not having a suit, and I'm not slim. Because of being overweight, I've always been the one who gets ignored... I want to change the media's shallow perception that people like us, who are fat and ugly, are an eyesore."
Hikaru Amami
"Who exactly is this obese, half-bald man?" This question has been on the minds of British TV viewers over the past year.
For a long time, we have become accustomed to seeing the same image on television—immaculately dressed in suits, shiny leather shoes, perfectly combed hair, and a smile with just the right curvature. However, starting from October 2009, British viewers frequently saw a middle-aged man on TV news: balding on top, his remaining hair was very disheveled, his eyes vacant, he wasn't tall, and he always appeared in the background of news footage wearing the same oversized white turtleneck sweater—simply put, he was completely different from any familiar TV persona.
Moreover, he was so fat that no one appearing in front of the camera could fully block him out. He wasn’t the host of the TV show, nor was he a specific interviewee; he was simply a human backdrop, appearing distracted and everywhere at once. Sometimes he would blend into the crowd, staring blankly at the camera without moving; other times he would deliberately pace behind the host, ensuring he stayed in the frame, nodding at the camera when he agreed with something; sometimes he would hold a newspaper or pretend to make a phone call, even though he avoided looking directly at the lens, his distinctive receding hairline and iconic turtleneck sweater still made him instantly recognizable to the audience.
He appeared in every news program on BBC, ITV, Sky News, or Channel 4, and even in programs produced by Al Jazeera. He commemorated the victims of the London subway bombings, participated in demonstrations in Hyde Park, followed the 2010 Prime Minister election outside Downing Street, and protested actions in Gaza outside the Israeli embassy. Every big or small event in the UK had his presence as a spectator, even surpassing the attendance rate of some journalists.
So, who exactly is he? Some "curious souls" in the UK counted that in the past year, he appeared in over a hundred live reports of news events. They began investigating this person, calling him the "spirit behind the host" or the "Spectator Emperor." Eventually, they found him on Facebook.
His name is Paul Yarrow, and Chinese netizens have given him the nickname "Polite & Refined Paul." Paul is 42 years old and lives in South London without any formal job—or, in his own words, his formal job is "to ensure I keep appearing in the background of various news programs." His father passed away in 2008, and since then, he has been taking care of his elderly mother who suffers from breast cancer.
Undoubtedly, Paul is not someone considered successful by societal standards—he has no money, no status, and his appearance isn't particularly appealing. Over the past forty-plus years of his life, he has received many dismissive looks because of his ordinariness. Choosing to become the "Spectator Emperor" is partly because he indeed has plenty of time to pay attention to all kinds of news, chasing after reporters' cameras or pre-positioning himself at news sites; secondly, it is also because he wants to use this method to vindicate people like himself.
In interviews with journalists, Paul’s statements were filled with evident resentment. "I'm here, this is me. I apologize for not having a suit, and I'm not slim. Because of being overweight, I've always been the one who gets ignored. Maybe I have an exceptionally insightful opinion about something, but it doesn't matter—the microphone always gets handed to the person next to me. The more you try to push me aside and make everyone forget about me, the more I insist on making you notice my existence. I want to change the media's shallow perception that people like us, who are fat and ugly, are an eyesore. Everyone always says that we now live in a fair and mutually respectful society, but in reality, www.sijiaoshe.com, people like us who aren't pretty or slim are always the ones being pushed away!"
In fact, initially, the media still tried to exploit his obesity. British comedian Russel Howard mockingly referred to him in his show as "that fat guy trying to get on TV," which made Paul very angry, "This is precisely what I don't want to see—fat people are always mocked or perceived as stupid." He earnestly explained that he only moves around in the background of news programs because such programs are more serious, and he also has his own political views to express.
Gradually, the public began to understand Paul's thoughts. Paul became a street celebrity, often having people chase after him to take photos with him, telling him how much they enjoy seeing him on screen, and some media outlets started reflecting on whether the internal practices of media organizations that promote equality and freedom truly do not judge people based on their appearance or status.
"The Newsnight" editor Michael Crick said, "Hosts usually don't know he's wandering behind them, which also poses a greater challenge for photographers." However, she wasn't irritated by Paul's antics but instead found it more amusing, "As long as he doesn't cause trouble for our program, I wish him well."
Related thematic articles: