Labour shadow transport secretary left looking like MR POTATO HEAD in bizarre TV interview
LABOUR’s shadow transport secretary was left looking like ‘Mr Potato Head’ from Toy Story after he was forced to conduct a live interview using a poor wifi connection after repeated train delays.
Labour's shadow transport secretary was left looking like ‘Mr Potato Head’ from Toy Story
Andy McDonald had been travelling north from London by train to highlight the 3.4 per cent hike in rail prices when he gave a BBC interview via the train's wi-fi connection.
However the video link was so bad it kept going out of focus - making Mr McDonald look like a blurry blob which some likened to a “potato” in Twitter comments
Mr McDonald later tweeted: “That’s ‘Mr Potato Head’ to you! #ToyStory.”
At one point during the interview, Mr McDonald lost signal altogether as “reconnecting” flashed up on the BBC’s video link TV.
At one point during the interview, Mr McDonald lost signal altogether as 'reconnecting' flashed up
Presenter Simon McCoy joked: "That word 'reconnecting', as soon as that appears you know you're in trouble."
Earlier Mr McDonald had been faced with repeated delays including a two hour wait for a train.
Once the Labour MP was finally on his way to Middlesbrough, he gave the interview using the train's wifi connection.
When the video link cut out again, Mr McCoy said: "I've got that 'poor connection' again - I'm going to stick with it in the hope you reappear."
During the interview, the Labour shadow minister blasted the Tories' record on the rail network, with ticket prices soaring higher than inflation.
He said: "It's really getting beyond a joke now, and I think people are really getting fed up at these increases in costs.
"I don't think people are experiencing an improvement in the system, I think the opposite is true."
He also took a shot at Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, who flew to Qatar on official business today despite the rise in rail fares.
That’s “Mr Potato Head” to you!#ToyStory https://t.co/jNdwOUZIek
— Andy McDonald MP (@AndyMcDonaldMP) January 2, 2018
The Labour official said: "Chris Grayling's in Qatar, I've got catarrh standing on the wet platform at Grantham."
Viewers took to social media to share the hilarity of the interview which lasted several minutes despite the repeated technical problems.
One joked: "The BBC just attempted to interview Andy McDonald on a train and it went very well."
While another mocked Mr McDonald's closeness to the leftie Labour leader, tweeting: "Glad capitalism was able to allow you to speak to the BBC via your phone."