‘Bob in Glasgow’ goes viral for shouting 'f*** the Pope' in bizarre Jeremy Vine phone-in

UK daytime television has once again offered up an unusual gaffe to get social media talking, as one individual who called in live to Channel 5’s Jeremy Vine programme appeared to shout “f*** the Pope and the IRA”.

Referred to only as “Bob in Glasgow”, the Scot was meant to be contributing to a debate on whether Rishi Sunak is “running scared” of a general election, after the prime minister said his “working assumption” was allowing people to go to the polls in the second half of this year.

Instead, in remarks people have taken to be a dig from a Rangers fan at Celtic Football Club (given its connection to Catholicism and their 2-1 win over the rival team on Saturday), Bob yelled out a four-letter word you aren’t allowed to say before the watershed.

Except in the moment, Vine didn’t seem to catch what was said, giving a small shake of his head and saying “no idea”.

He went on to “apologise profusely” if there “was any bad language” broadcast.

And on social media, the presenter led reactions to the bizarre moment, claiming he “still can’t make out a single word” of what Bob was saying after listening to it “20 times”:

Callers into Jeremy Vine and its predecessor The Wright Stuff have made headliners before, as broadcaster Matthew Wright had to contend with a prankster who rang in twice in a row to call his ex-wife a “b****” during a discussion on hitting kids.

Meanwhile Vine had an “Alan Partridge moment” on his Radio 2 show in November when sharing a story about a morbid boating accident, and two months prior he apologised for playing Beyoncé’s track 'Halo' – which contains the line, “remember those walls I built? Well baby, they’re tumbling down” – following a discussion of the RAAC crisis in schools.

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