TEAM PICK: Andrew McUtchen’s favourite stories of 2016

Andrew McUtchen

I don’t always do what I’m told, which frustrates my team. I was asked to supply three favourite stories of the year. I supplied seven. “Please, only three,” said Ceri. I met her in the middle and supplied five. Which has now, through sheer force of consistency – you can always get me on consistency and the rest of the team did three – become three. The culling process was extremely painful. I had to lose this incredible story about the Australian Great Barrier Reef, which is where we first worked with our videographer Ash, who has gone on to become a core member of the team. Even worse, I had to leave out that time I wrote the Friday Wind Down with some guy called Michael Klim. At the Rio Olympics. I managed to sneak in the Olympics anyway, so not all was lost.

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Harvey Specter spills the beans on the watches you’ve seen in Suits (and the timepiece Scarlett Johansson gifted him)
BY: Ceri David
PUBLISHED: July

“Not everybody knows quite how well connected our Ceri David is, but I do, and I expect miracles of her all the time. In an editorial meeting that coincided with the launch of a new season of Suits she suggested finding out what watches Gabriel Macht (Harvey Specter, to most) owns and wears in real life. Any Pateks? We loved the idea, so Ceri casually got in touch with Gabriel, and this happened. Remarkable stuff.”

“Sometimes where you sit for breakfast makes all the difference to your day. On this particular day – day two of the Rio Olympics – I chose very well. It was a table that also included new President of Omega, Raynald Aeschlimann. Over coffee, he – also casually – mentioned that he’d had a personal email from Michael Phelps overnight. The journalist in me died and went to Rio.”