Prime Minister Andy Burnham has hit back at criticism of his Celebrity Gogglebox appearance.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused the Labour PM of dodging ‘difficult’ work by filming for the Channel 4 series.
In response, Burnham told reporters he would ‘make no apology’ for trying to ‘lead with a bit of lightness’, having been questioned on how he had time to take part in the programme.
Sitting alongside close friend and Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram for the Stand Up To Cancer special, he declared he was ‘proud’ to support the charity in scenes due to air tonight.
‘That’s the way I go at things and connect with people as best I can,’ said Burnham.
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He added that ‘if a few more people watch it’ and ultimately support Stand Up To Cancer, it will be ‘job done’.
Speaking further to BBC Radio 5 Live, Burnham continued: ‘It is always a moment in the annual calendar where we support Stand Up To Cancer through Gogglebox.
‘Steve and I are proud to do it.’
He added that he is ‘trying to give the country a lift’ and ‘some hope’.
‘That’s always my approach, and it’s what I’m trying to do.
‘It may not appeal to everybody when it comes to Gogglebox. It’s Stand Up To Cancer night, and I’ve always been somebody who puts my shoulder behind the fight against cancer.’
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Speaking to the Press Association earlier, Badenoch questioned Burnham’s decision to film for Gogglebox while he had other pressing commitments.
She described it as ‘not my thing’, admitting she’s ‘amazed’ Burnham found time, given that the show takes ‘hours’ to shoot.
Referring to the government’s advice to the public to gather food, water, and other essentials to prepare for possible emergencies in the future, she said: ‘I don’t mind them giving advice.
‘I worry that between the prime minister being on Gogglebox and then talking about stockpiling canned goods, they’re not actually doing the really difficult stuff that will protect the country.’
She also described the PM as someone who is ‘on social media all day’, arguing that if she did the same, she ‘wouldn’t be able to do my job as leader of the opposition’.
‘My job is to hold him to account, and I’ve seen a lot of prime ministers up close, and I’ve never seen a prime minister have the time to do this much Goggleboxing, social media, and Lad Bible.’
In a clip released ahead of the show, Burnham can be seen tearfully reacting to the stories of people diagnosed with cancer, which he described as ‘utter devastation’.
Sitting on a sofa alongside Rotheram, he says he ‘just couldn’t imagine’ the ordeal, adding: ‘The only thing that does give some hope is there is so much incredible research going on, and some of the main cancers of years ago, there’s been such big progress on them.
‘But it’s utter devastation, isn’t it? If you’re that couple, I don’t know how you cope with that.’
The star-studded episode also features actor Stanley Tucci, comedian Joe Lycett, and the Sugababes.
Gogglebox for Stand Up To Cancer is on Channel 4 tonight at 9.05pm.
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