Paul Yarrow: News Nuisance or Man on Mission?

August 3, 2010— -- While a BBC reporter describes a house fire on live TV, a man shambles into the back of the frame, pulling a shopping basket behind him.

The man is Paul Yarrow and this is what he does. Yarrow, 42, has made more than one hundred television appearances, loitering behind reporters as they broadcast to Britain.

Yarrow never says anything. He never gestures. He never even smiles. He's now been christened "The News Raider" by the British press and is mercilessly mocked for his appearance.

He is a little overweight, he is losing his hair and he always wears the same beige sweater for his bizarre cameos. Bloggers desperately search for him on the airwaves while cameramen desperately try to keep him out of their shots -- changing their angles and zooming in.

But he's a pro. He moves with them. He peers over shoulders. He knows what he's doing.

"One fat guy [who] just wanted to get on telly," is the damning analysis from Russell Howard, a comedian with a show on the BBC that pokes fun at the news. (Telly is British slang for TV.)

But does Yarrow really just want to get on telly? When I called him up, Yarrow claimed to be camera shy and overwhelmed by his newfound celebrity. After some gentle persuasion, he agreed to meet for fish 'n chips and a cup of tea to explain his motives.

"I'm known as the balding fat man," he told me with a sigh. "Quite rude, the press."

Yarrow said his appearances are a silent protest, a campaign that began three years ago.

So he's not just doing this to be funny?

"I was actually being serious," he said. "But of course, the way I look, the shape I am gives that sort of comical edge."

Yarrow claims he is protesting against the pervasive beauty one sees on television news. He doesn't object to the great hair, white teeth and trim physiques of news reporters. He objects, he says, to media bias against the unattractive when it comes to capturing news events.