Andy Burnham is set to appear on Celebrity Gogglebox for Stand Up To Cancer, becoming the first Prime Minister ever to feature on the Channel 4 show. The Labour leader, who became PM in July, will be joined by “old friend” Steve Rotheram, the mayor of Liverpool, on the sofa in Downing Street.
Downing Street Sofa Debut
In a trailer for the upcoming episode, due to be released on Friday, October 23, the pair can be heard from behind the No 10 door discussing what snacks they will have for their TV-watching session. Mr Burnham reveals that Twiglets are his favourite snack, while Mr Rotheram opts for Skips instead, as long as they’re prawn cocktail flavour.
Gogglebox captioned the clip: “Out of hours in No10. Join Andy and his friend Steve on Gogglebox for SU2CUK.”
Mixed Reactions from Fans
Fans flocked to the comments to heap praise on the “amazing” announcement. “Smart move from PM,” said one, whilst another added: “Love this. Love it even more it's set the miserable people off moaning!! It's for charity for god sake.” “This is brilliant!! Some people will hate it, but it’s refreshing to see a PM being a bit more normal. Love it!,” said a third.
However, others were not as pleased, branding the casting “ridiculous”. “Lovely bit of PR. But perhaps focus on sorting out things such as extortionate fuel prices instead of pissing around on gogglebox. Has somebody reminded him as prime minister he actually has to do some work?!,” said one user. “Because he’s got time for hours of TV whilst the country’s in the state it is!! At least he’s made buses cheap,” said another.
Other Celebrities and Past Appearances
Other celebrities that will feature on the charity episode include Celebrity Traitors contestant Joe Lycett and the Sugababes, with many more set to be announced. Whilst Burnham is the first Prime Minister to appear on the show, he is not the first Labour leader, after Jeremy Corbyn made an appearance in the Stand Up to Cancer episode in 2017. Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former spin doctor, and Boris Johnson’s father, Stanley, have also taken part over the years.
