Born in Liverpool, he grew up with his sister, Geeta, and brother, Ravi, in Lancashire. He went to Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Blackburn.
His father is a consultant radiologist and Krishnan originally intended to study medicine at Oxford University. But after taking a year off to work for the BBC he changed his mind and read politics, philosophy and economics instead.
When he was still an undergraduate, Krishnan started working as a reporter and presenter on Newsround, the children’s news bulletin. Then, after stints on Newsnight and BBC News 24, he joined Channel 4 at the age of 28.
His foreign assignments have included the conflicts in Kashmir and Bosnia, earthquakes in Turkey and India, and elections in America, Pakistan and Russia.
Krishnan, who