Ant and Dec took a little bit of time out to mock the UK government’s ‘Christmas party’ during last night’s episode of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
And the video’s now been viewed millions of times on social media.
During a typical appearance for the award-winning presenters – who have been the hosts of the popular ITV reality competition show since it first began all the way back in 2002 – where they explain what the celebrity campmates have been up to and set the scene for the next part of the show, the pair addressed Prime Minister Boris Johnson directly in reference to the alleged Christmas Party.
When explaining that former BBC Breakfast host Louise Minchin has bee chosen as the new camp leader to take over from former footballer David Ginola, Ant launched his tongue-in-cheek attack: “David Ginola’s reign is over.
“But they weren’t celebrating. They didn’t have a party. They categorically deny any suggestions that they had a party.
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“And this fictional party definitely didn’t involve cheese and wine, or a secret Santa.”
Then, after Ant had finished alluding to the alleged party, Dec chips in to directly speak to Boris Johnson saying: “Evening Prime Minister.”
Since the scene aired live on ITV last night, and the video was shared to Twitter, it’s racked up millions of views on social media, with plenty of viewers praising the pair and adding their own viewpoints.
One person commented: “Moments like these are why Ant and Dec clean up every year at the awards. The best and it isn’t even close.”, while another added: “Who’d have thought that it was Ant and Dec that would finally bring Johnson down.”
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“The actual anger is even palpable in the most lovely men on earth.” another concluded.
Ant and Dec’s mocking comes amid ongoing conversation nationwide after Downing Street has been accused of hosting several parties during the national lockdowns at the end of 2020, after a damning report in the Mirror.
The Prime Minister himself, as well as up to 50 colleagues, allegedly broke lockdown rules by hosting a leaving party in November, and a Christmas party in December.
Downing Street has been accused of hosting several parties during the national lockdowns at the end of 2020 / Credit: UK Parliament
It also comes directly after after a video recording – which was obtained by ITV News – of what is reported to be a rehearsal for a TV media briefing emerged, in which senior Number 10 aides were filmed talking and laughing about a Christmas party.
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They also jokingly referred to a “business meeting” and a “cheese and wine” event.
The footage is said to be from 22 December last year, which is four days after the alleged Christmas party took place in Number 10.
In a statement to ITV News, the Metropolitan Police said they are aware of the footage, adding that: “It is our policy not to routinely investigate retrospective breaches of the Covid 19 regulations, however the footage will form part of our considerations.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson also responded to the claims, saying that the “guidelines were followed at all times.”
Featured Image – ITV
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‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Benson Boone has announced a headline gig in Manchester – and it’s a big one
Danny Jones
American pop sensation and unrivalled king of unnecessary front flips, Benson Boone, has just announced his first-ever headline Manchester arena gig as part of a new arena tour.
The solo artist and acrobatic chart-topper has seen a meteoric rise in the US and, as is usually the case across the Atlantic, he’s become increasingly popular over here too.
Benson may have performed here in Manchester before as part of the 2024 MTV EMAs and for a small show at The Deaf Institute, but now big fans have the added Boone of getting to watch a standalone show at one of Europe’s leading indoor entertainment venues.
Announced on Friday, 30 May, the 22-year-old will be making his way across the pond from Washington for a limited run of UK concerts, with a date at Co-op Live arena being one of just five dates.
Extending his ‘American Heart Tour’ ahead of the release of his eponymous sophomore record, with this autumn leg, Co-op Live will mark his individual visit to 0161.
The Grammy-nominated artist has earned several nods of recognition already for his first album, Fireworks & Rollerblades, which was released just last spring.
He has been described as among the current trend of male singers who fit into the American Idol and ‘Voice audition pop’ genre (a term recently coined online), along with the likes of Teddy Swims, Shawn Mendes, Alex Warren and others.
Regardless of the slightly tongue-in-cheek term, he’s become a huge hit around the world and landing him is still a big coup for the venue that has already welcomed similarly massive pop contemporaries like Swims, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and more.
In case you’re wondering just how big a deal he is over in the States, even this early in his career, his domestic headline dates sold out in seconds, quite literally…
The last time he visited Co-op Live was to perform at the most recent MTV EMAs
Benson Boone is coming to Manchester on Monday, 27 October and will be playing just two other British venues: The O2 in London (two nights) and the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.
Safe to say you don’t want to miss this one if you like soaring vocals and lots of flipping.
General admission tickets go live at 10am on Thursday, 5 June, but Co-op Members can gain access via the arena’s official pre-sale window from the same time on Tuesday (3 Jun).
Emily Sergeant -
8th December 2021 
