Ah, The One Show, the BBC’s flagship weekday outing of anodyne oddness. A show with all the personality of a damp cheese roll, a show which didn’t bat an eyelid when Theresa May and hubbie Phillip discussed boys’ jobs and girls’ jobs when they appeared on the sofa earlier this month. Question Time, it most certainly is not.
Last night a chilled out Jeremy Corbyn rocked up to the studio, a jar of homemade jam in his hands, and managed to squeeze a touch a self-deprecating wit and a passionate ode to allotments, a lovely wee tale about him buggering off to Jamaica, in amongst the childhood photos and a strange game based on his love of decorative manhole covers. Oh and a cheeky wink in the direction of host Alex Jones – a move which, had Theresa May attempted it, would have given the impression that the robotic PM was malfunctioning.
Here’s the jam moment in all its glory.
Jeremy Corbyn just presented the One Show with a jar of his homemade jam in front of a wall of manhole covers. The election has peaked. pic.twitter.com/4kKsqPKF98
— Tom Boadle (@TomBoadle) May 30, 2017
They also bought out some photos of Corbs as a kiddo. “I was a bit free-spirited – I kept climbing out of the pram and running off.”
What was Jeremy Corbyn like as a toddler? pic.twitter.com/yMO2MoDYdU
— BBC The One Show (@BBCTheOneShow) May 30, 2017
Oh and of course, the ‘boys jobs’ and ‘girls jobs’ thing was mentioned, which Corbyn answered with a simple eyebrow raise. No, no they are not boys’ jobs and girls’ jobs in Corbyn’s household, thank you very much. And also, he prunes the bush in front of his house himself, in case you’re wondering.
In any case, it seems the Labour leader’s appearance, even if at times he could barely contain his bewilderment with the show, won over viewers, who said he came across as warmer and more genuine than his Tory counterpart, as these people discovered.
#corbyn on the #oneshow Kind, honest, believable human being. #may was robotic & as fake as a six pound note. You either have it, or not.
— Jim Mortram (@JAMortram) May 30, 2017
No fan of Corbyn but he is much more relaxed & amiable than the PM was. #Oneshow
— Suzy Brighton (@Pushkin48) May 30, 2017
Jeremy Corbyn on the One Show throwing winks about, what a salty potato x
— Hannah (@x_mcgregor) May 30, 2017
A salty potato indeed. A salty potato that is winning more and more people over by the day, leading to polls now suggesting that there will be a hung parliament following June 8’s general election; a less than jammy result for Theresa May’s Conservatives.