‘Hot podium guy’ sends telly viewers into meltdown as he units up Starmer’s mic
Hunky media stalwart Tobias Gough first rose to fame in 2019 and has become a hotly anticipated fixture in prime ministerial announcements in recent years – and his approval rating is growing
Social media users swooned over Tobias again
Telly viewers rejoiced as the prime minister announced his resignation this morning – as it meant the return of “hot podium guy”. Social media users swooned over hunky sound technician Tobias Gough as he tested the microphone before Sir Keir’s emotional quit speech.
The muscular media stalwart – who first rose to internet fame in 2019 – has become a hotly anticipated fixture in prime ministerial announcements in recent years. One social media user wrote: “He’s the only one at No. 10 whose approval rating is still rising.”
Wearing his signature tight black T-shirt, bulging biceps and broad chest was a welcome distraction for viewers fed up of political upheaval as Sir Keir became the sixth prime ministerial resignation in the last decade.
Another social media wag quipped: “Podium guy looks like he’s been in the gym since the last time this happened.” Another joked: “Dunno about the approval ratings but something is deffo rising.”
One admirer referenced Labour frontrunner Andy Burnham’s jogging attire and joked of Tobias: “I will take him as next PM! Does he go running in short shorts?” Another said: “I’d say at this point his popularity ranks higher than all PM’s, past and present.”
Someone else joked: “Is he the new Prime Minister? He will have lots of fans, but may make a certain US leader very jealous.”
Tobias first had online fans swooning when he appeared before Theresa May’s resignation in 2019, when someone joked: “We’re putting aside our political differences by thirsting over Podium Guy.”
Another said he was the “only person to do his job efficiently at Downing Street in last three years.” But he was again seen at Boris Johnson’s resignation in 2022 and Liz Truss’s exit speech later that year.
He was again spotted ahead of Rishi Sunak’s first address shortly after Truss stepped down and was on our screens just before the 2024 election announcement.
His job is to place the Downing Street lectern and do a sound test before PM announcements. When he appeared again on Monday, sending fans into a frenzy, one joker said: “When this guy shows up, politicians start updating their LinkedIn.”
Tobias previously revealed his surprise at the attention he had received, saying in 2019 that he ‘isn’t model material’. He married wife Tina in 2019 and she told his new army of fans: “He’s my husband!”
