From ranking his favourite crisps in the pub to complaining about people watching TikToks out loud on the train, Andy Burnham has made efforts to show he has the common touch.
Now he will become the first prime minister to appear on the TV show Gogglebox, in a special charity episode on Friday.
He will review the television shows of the week alongside the mayor of Liverpool city region, Steve Rotheram – a close friend. Others featured in the episode will include the pop band Sugababes and the comedian Joe Lycett.
The show was filmed inside No 10. In the trailer, viewers are introduced to “good friends Andy and Steve” and Burnham can be heard saying: “Might have some crisps out here, do you want any?” They then have a long discussion about crisps.
Rotheram responds that he has brought Quavers with him. Burnham offers his friend Skips, pork scratchings, Twiglets or bacon fries to go with a beer. He is heard throwing the packet to Rotheram and it appears to drop on the floor, after which both laugh uproariously.
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Channel 4 said: “Nothing is off limits as Gogglebox continues to celebrate the simple joy of watching television together. They’ll be sharing hilarious, honest and often unexpected reactions to the week’s biggest television moments as well as poignant stories, all in aid of Stand Up To Cancer.”
A source close to Burnham told the Guardian he liked Gogglebox and had enjoyed watching the show. No 10 said he had a longstanding commitment to supporting charities, building on his work as the mayor of Greater Manchester and continuing in office as prime minister.
In 2017, Jeremy Corbyn, then the Labour leader, appeared on the show. During his episode he shared his recipe for coddled eggs while watching a Nigella Lawson cookery programme.
Stand Up To Cancer is a joint national fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4 that brings Britain together to speed up progress in cancer research. More than £127m has been raised to date, funding 73 clinical trials and research projects involving more than 13,000 cancer patients.
More celebrity TV critics are to be announced. The show airs this Friday on Channel 4 at 9.05pm.
