Richard Madeley faced off with RMT boss Mick Lynch on Good Morning Britain today, and had an absolute meltdown about it.
The GMB presenter has been accused of going ‘full Alan Partridge’ while speaking to the rail union boss about the upcoming strike action.
In the ‘toe-curlingly awful’ interview, Richard suffered a bout of verbal diarrhoea and appeared to be unable to stop interrupting Mick, who was trying his hardest to get a word in edgeways.
Ironically, the clash was about the fact that Mick wasn’t answering the question.
The RMT boss calmly shut down Richard mid-rant, asking him: “Richard, why don’t you just interview yourself?”
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During the squabble, GMB co-presenter Kate Garraway was seen desperately tried to restore some order.
Mick Lynch on GMB. Credit: GMBRichard Madeley on GMB. Credit: GMBThe pair continually ended up talking over each other.
The rail workers had been accused by Richard of ‘targeting people at Christmas’ and even of ‘sadism’ with the timing of rail strikes this month.
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In the clips, Mick says: “We’ve not targeted Christmas, it isn’t Christmas yet Richard.
“I don’t know when your Christmas starts but mine starts from Christmas Eve. So we are striking at this time because-“
He’s then interrupted by Richard again, who called him ‘disingenuous’ because ‘commercial Christmas’ starts earlier in December.
As the presenter continues to talk, Mick says: “Richard, you’re just talking to yourself at the minute. You’re ranting. Richard you’re ranting here.”
After an awkward pause, he then asks: “Right have you finished then?”
When Mick is asked: “Are you going to answer the question?” he responds: “Well if you give me a minute I will.”
“I won’t let you get away with nonsense!” Richard then bursts out. “Christmas does not start on Christmas Eve.”
Kate Garraway trying to stop the argument between Richard Madeley and Mick Shaw. Credit: GMB
An exasperated Mick says: “Richard, why don’t you just interview yourself?”
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He replies: “I’m holding you to account on behalf of the viewers. I’m not interested in the sound of my own voice, I’d like to hear yours answering the question.”
Mick says: “Well if you’d like to hear mine why don’t you just stop talking for a second?”
Richard then says it’s ‘his job’ to keep interrupting until an interviewee answers the question which is… a loose interpretation of his actual job role.
You can watch the full Richard Madeley vs Mick Lynch spat here:
The interview has been widely shared on Twitter today, with people praising the calm behaviour of Mick Lynch.
One person wrote: “Mick Lynch making Richard Madeley look like an absolute gobsh*te. Madeley wasn’t conducting an interview. He simply went on a rant, giving his own political opinions and attacking the @RMTunion and it’s members. GMB should get rid of this fool.”
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Another person said: “Richard Madeley makes himself look foolish here. He didn’t ‘grill’ Mick Lynch, he ranted at him. Prat.”
Someone else said: “Richard Madeley goes ultra Alan Partridge ranting about when Christmas starts. Toe curlingly awful. Well played Mick Lynch.”
And another commented: “Absolutely brilliant watching Richard Madeley having a full on Partridge style meltdown and having has arse to him by Mick Lynch on @GMB just now. Now sitting sulking like a mardarse. Wonder if Madeley will be as ridiculous to the boss of Network Rail… #GMB”
Featured image: GMB
TV & Showbiz
Manchester streets transformed into London as huge film set descends on town
Daisy Jackson
The streets of Manchester have been transformed by a huge film set this week, with street signs and posters subtly transforming the city centre into London.
The area surrounding Spring Gardens is at the heart of the filming, with scenes being shot in the dead of night this week.
Film crews are working on a new Channel 4 thriller from the creators behind hit shows like Top Boy, Mobland, and The Day Of The Jackal.
Army of Shadows will star major names like Kit Harrington, Paddy Considine, and Olivia Colman, along with Susan Sarandon, America Ferrera, and Alex Hassell.
While filming is mostly taking place after dark, traces of the film sets have been left in Manchester today – including red phone boxes, Greater London Police signs, and posters of a fictitious resistance movement.
And there are several road closures in place, including Chancery Place, Chancery Lane, Brown Street, Booth Street, Kennedy Street, and parts of Tib Lane and Clarence Street.
In a note shared to local residents and businesses, StudioCanal said the scenes being filmed in Manchester involve ‘a group of people running through the streets putting up posters on properties’.
Fake posters in ManchesterThe film set includes Greater London Police signsFake posters in ManchesterProp bikes in Manchester as a huge film set appears
According to Channel 4, the new drama is inspired by Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1969 film and Joseph Kessel’s seminal book of the same name, which dramatised the emergence of the French Resistance to the Nazi Occupation of France during World War 2.
Army of Shadows is a ‘bold new story’ from Ronan Bennett of how resistance takes shape in an occupied Great Britain.
The show summary says: “Britain looks almost normal, but the flags are different, the news is careful, and nobody says certain things out loud anymore. But everyone can feel it. Somewhere beneath the surface of ordinary life something has gone terribly, quietly wrong.
“Out of the shadows emerges a former soldier known only as Berry, who starts building a secret resistance network. He knows one thing above all else: don’t act before you’re ready.
“An unlikely group starts to coalesce around him – people who’ve decided they can’t look away any longer: a soldier, a student, a radiographer, a journalist. Ordinary people, with ordinary lives, making an extraordinary and irreversible choice.
“Against them: a state with unlimited reach, a ruthless minister who’ll do whatever it takes to maintain “order”, and an American intelligence operative called Jessie, who is very, very good at her job.”
Mancs wanted to take part in a new series of the ‘hardest quiz show on TV’
Emily Sergeant
Call yourself a clever clogs? The BBC is currently looking for contestants to take part in what is widely considered the hardest quiz show on TV.
That’s right – Only Connect is back for another series on BBC Two.
Presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell and first broadcast all the way back in 2008, Only Connect takes TV quizzing to the next level, as it sees two teams compete against each other by finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues.
In this quiz show – which viewers have dubbed one of the most challenging there is – knowledge only takes you so far, as the ability to think laterally is also deemed ‘vitally important’.
A casting call for the upcoming 2027 series has been shared on the BBC website, with people from Greater Manchester encouraged to apply.
Mancs wanted to take part in a new series of the ‘hardest quiz show on TV’ / Credit: BBC
The casting call reads: “The popular BBC Two quiz show presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell returns for a new series in 2027.
“Only Connect is seeking teams of three players OR single applicants or teams of two looking for like-minded teammates to pool their combined wits to solve fiendish conundrums and vexing puzzles.
“This is the quiz series where, as in life itself, knowledge will only take you so far: patience and lateral thinking are also vital. It’s all about making connections between things which may appear, at first glance, not to be connected at all.”
Reckon you’ve got what it takes then? Applications are now open, and all applicants must be aged 18 or over and a resident in the UK or Channel Islands.
Daisy Jackson -
13th December 2022 
