Oct 23, 2025
90s uk politics
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90s uk politics
⚠️ DON’T START DISCOURSE ABOUT RPF IN THE NOTES!! YOU WILL BE BLOCKED IF YOU DO SO ⚠️
Do you ship it?
Victoria Coren Mitchell/Michael Portillo
I ship it!
Sure, why not/I can see it
Neutral
I don’t ship it
I don’t know them
Non-rpf shipper button
Reason:
“Victoria has for a decade done these extremely extended bits where she'll describe a TV show only to reveal at the last second that the show is about Michael Portillo. Dors this obsession go both ways?? Does it have to in order to ship it? Let Tumblr decide”
You never quite know what you do in life that leaves a seed behind that grows into an oak tree.
Michael Portillo
Michael Portillo purportedly helped with research on The New Statesman. I read in Mark Searby's Rik Mayall biography that Portillo gave Marks and Gran a tour of Parliament to aid them in their writing because he was their MP at the time.
Whether or not the rumours that Alan B'Stard was based somewhat off Portillo are true or not is another matter. I remember Rik saying at some point that Alan was based off an MP, but he couldn't possibly name them. According to Searby, Marks & Gran became friendly with Portillo, which makes it seem less likely that they based Alan on him... I honestly have no idea either way. The main correlation between Alan and Portillo is that Portillo was, at the time (late 1980s), seen as a bit of a darling of the right and a possible successor to Thatcher.
There was a period in the 2000s where short sketches featuring Alan appeared on This Week (when The New Statesman stage show was going on), and anyone who watched This Week during its many years on air will know that Portillo was present in almost every episode. Andrew Neil jokes to Portillo before introducing the sketches that Alan was based on him, and Portillo only smirks in response. Light-heartedly, of course.
The real point I'm trying to get to here is this: imagine Alan B'Stard hosting Great British Railway Journeys.
Ok, I know this is an absolutely massive longshot, but anyone know where I can find the episode of 'My Week in the Real World' with Michael Portillo? I really, really want to watch it and I cannot find it anywhere. At all.
Plus, it really would be amazing Sociology revision.
Michael Portillo nails it
