In the revolving door of British prime ministers, one person remains constant – and pleasing – to the internet: Tobias Gough, also known as the “hot podium guy”.
The sound engineer from Kent is back in the spotlight again after he was spotted setting up the lectern outside 10 Downing Street on June 22, before Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation.
The world first saw him in 2019 when he was seen bringing in the lectern and testing the microphone, moments before Theresa May announced her resignation.
He was seen moments before May’s successor Boris Johnson announced he was stepping down in 2022, and sound checking for Liz Truss during her brief 49-days in office that same year.
He also made an appearance to test the mic for Rishi Sunak’s first address as prime minister as well as the 2024 election announcement.
According to CNN, Gough, 42, has become “something of a cult hero” online after outlasting five prime ministers in the last seven years.
“The most stable figure in British politics since Brexit has been the man wheeling out the resignation podium,” said an X user with the handle Mangomochi.
Many internet commentators pointed out he seemed to appear every time a British prime minister is about to quit – making him the unofficial harbinger of major political bombshells.
“Petition to get ‘Hot Podium Guy’ to be PM, as (aside from Larry the Cat) he’s the only one who’s outstayed the last five Prime Ministers!,” wrote another user, Fi, on X.
Some also swooned over his looks and strapping physique, leading his wife, Tina, to tell The Daily Mail in 2019 that “he’s my husband!”.
Gough, however, seemed surprised by the attention he was getting, adding in a 2019 Daily Mail interview that he “isn’t model material”.
‘I have to say it was great lighting to make me look that good, the sun must have been at the right angle,” he said at that time.
Britons on June 22 seemed to welcome the news that Starmer was stepping down, but said that many challenges lay ahead for his likely successor Andy Burnham.
