ITV GMB host Alan Par—erm, we mean Richard Madeley pulled out another classic presenting moment as he abruptly pulled an interview with defence secretary Gavin Williamson.
Speaking to the cabinet minister about the Salisbury poisoning case, Madeley – who, along with Charlotte Hawkins, was filling in for Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid – asked the cabinet minister whether he regretted having told Russia to “shut up and go away” after the attack.
However, Williamson tried to skirt around the question, answering: “I think what everyone saw is Russia’s actions against our citizens in a city here in the United Kingdom...”
“You’re telling us what we know,” Madeley said. “We know what happened. We know what happened in Salisbury...the question is...I’ll try it one more time ... do you regret using very casual Trump-esque language like “shut up and go away”?
Williamson tried to dodge again: “Well what was right is actually we came together with our allies...”
And it was then Madeley replied: “You’re not going to answer, are you? Okay... Alright... Okay... Alright... Alight... Alright... Interview terminated because you won’t answer the question!”
Referencing Williamson’s new anti-poaching initiative with Malawi, Madeley added: “Good luck with the African elephant project. That is an excellent thing to do. But it would be helpful if you answered a straight question with a straight answer.”
After the interview ended the host told viewers: “It would have been so easy to have said ‘no I don’t’, ‘I think it was an appropriate expression’ or to say ‘on reflection I should have been a bit more formal’. Easy.”
And so, it was: a moment that saw Madeley simultaneously in the right and totally Alan Partridge.
