Former children's TV presenter Andi Peters interviewed potential Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on ITV This Morning on Thursday, August 18 - and discovered he was the Tory leader hopeful's childhood hero. The interview came following the announcement that polls suggest that Rishi's political opponent, Liz Truss, is on course to follow Boris Johnson as the next Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the UK.
“This is the most exciting interview I’ve done on this campaign,” said Rishi, 42, as he began his interview with former BBC Broom Cupboard host Andi and Rochelle Humes. “I grew up with Andi. It was the Broom Cupboard, it was Ed the Duck," he added of the late '80s/early '90s kids' TV favourites as he prepared for a grilling from the two entertainment presenters.
Rishi then shared his knowledge of the children's BBC shows that he remembered watching during his 'childhood', prompting Andi to say: "You know the shows!" However, things soon turned more serious.
Read more: 'My vision for Wales is unrivalled' | Rishi Sunak
During the interview, Rishi discussed why he'd be the ideal candidate for the next PM. Andi began by telling him that "the stats were not in [his] favour" but assured him that the "race isn't over till the race is over," to which Rishi replied, "exactly".
Rishi described how the reception that he had from people had been "really positive" and outlined some of his plans for the country. Rochelle asked: "Do you see yourself in with a shot?" again warning him that the odds were not in his favour. He replied: "Yes definitely."
"The fact of the matter is we listen and then we go 'oh it didn't happen', are you saying now that you can make these things happen?" asked Andi, to which the PM candidate said: "100%. People saw me in the pandemic act at a time when we faced enormous anxiety and I stepped up and created [furlough], which no one knew about and it worked."
Rishi went on to address concerns about inflation and cost of living. He said: “It’s really tough and it is the number one challenge facing the new Prime Minister. My plans, I announced quite a bit of it as Chancellor, and I want to build on that as PM as the situation is worse than we thought, sadly. I want to cut VAT off energy bills because that will help everyone and is something you can do quite quickly. That will provide a couple of hundred extra pounds this autumn and winter on top of what I announced as Chancellor which was quite significant.
“But there are two other groups that I think need some extra help on top of that and it's those on the lowest incomes, about a third of our society, and also pensioners. Those two groups I want to provide extra financial support for. They will get extra cash, particularly over the winter in something called the ‘winter fuel payment’ and that will help during a really tricky period. Can I make these things happen quickly? Yes.”
Towards the end of the conversation, Andi grilled Rishi on whether he thought that Boris Johnson took too long to resign. He uncomfortably replied: "I think that couple of days was a bit odd," and reiterated that 60 other MPs also resigned.
On Johnson's resignation, he explained, “It was for me a really tough decision. It was a personal decision. It was a sad decision. I’m proud of what I achieved in government with the Prime Minister but at the end it was clear that PM and I had different views on how to manage the economy and we were due to give a big speech on it the next week and there was a bit of an ethical issue that I couldn't defend anymore. I’ve reached out to him [Boris], but understandably he’s not replied.”
Rishi's appearance on This Morning prompted a huge reaction on social media. One person wrote: " @thismorning so instead of asking real questions, your trying to make @RishiSunak look like a a person of the people because he watched Byker Grove," referring to the MP's opening comments.
Another said: " Very clever of @RishiSunak talking absolute s*** for 10 minutes of the interview with Rochelle and Andy to avoid talking about real problems... Half the country can’t feed themselves but yeah what floor was the broom cupboard filmed on #thismorning"
A third commented: " Rochelle and Andi interviewing Rishi Sunak is like Peppa Pig interviewing Albert Einstein."
What did you think of Rishi's appearance on This Morning? Let us know in the comments. For more showbiz and television stories, get our newsletter here.
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