The 6 most bizarre moments from Boris Johnson's cringe Nadine Dorries interview

What's a prime-time TV interview between friends?

A cringe-worthy watch apparently, when it involves former culture secretary Nadine Dorries sitting down with pal and former prime minister Boris Johnson on her new Talk TV show Friday Night with Nadine.

After serving in Johnson's government and being a staunch supporter of his during that time, it was no surprise that Dorries praised Johnson's handling of the pandemic and defended his behaviour when the "Partygate" was mentioned.

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It certainly wasn't your typical political sit-down interview, as Johnson was left uncooked due to a lack of grilling on Dorries' behalf. Things became more surreal when his love for the Pink Panther films and his cow painting hobby became hot topics.

Here are the six most bizarre moments from Johnson's interview with Dorries.

Those who believe he covered up "Partygate" are "out of their mind"

Of course, the infamous "Partygate" scandal was mentioned, in which Johnson received a fine for a birthday gathering held at Downing Street – against his own Covid rules.

The ex-PM is currently being investigated by the cross-party Privileges Committee to determine whether he misled the Commons in his remarks on Partygate.

But Johnson remained adamant in his stance on the matter.

"I hope it's obvious to everybody, that anybody who thinks I was knowingly going to parties that were breaking lockdown rules in No10, and then knowingly covering up parties that were illicit that other people were going to, that’s all strictly for the birds," he said.

"And if anybody thinks like that they’re out of their mind."

Claims Brexit "saved lives" by making Covid vaccine rollout quicker

Johnson believes Brexit "saved lives," and claimed it sped up the rollout process of the Covid vaccine - a claim that has been disputed.

"It is literally true that Brexit helped save lives. And people’s eyes bulge a bit when you say that, but it happens to be true… I'm proud of that. I’m proud of all the work that those people did," he said.

However Full Fact, the UK's independent fact-checking organisation, has proved this is not the case and outlined in their verdict: "This is not correct. Under European law, the UK was permitted to act independently to approve the vaccine in an emergency."

It also pointed when MHRA boss Dr June Raine was directly asked in 2020 if Brexit made the vaccine rollout quicker, to which she said: "We have been able to authorise the supply of the vaccine using provisions under European law which exist until 1 January."

Still believes the Tories can "certainly" win the next election

Despite poor poll ratings and the three different party leaders in the past year, Johnson still believes that his party can win the next election which is due to take place in January 2025.

"Let me be very clear… The fact is that the Conservative Party can certainly win the next election - yes, absolutely," he said.

"We've got almost two years to go before there has to be an election."

Johnson "wouldn't mind" being stuck in a lift with political rivals

When Dorries asked Johnson who he would rather be stuck in a lift with, either Labour leader Keir Starmer or Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon, the ex-PM gave a pretty diplomatic answer.

"Oh brother," he began. "Well, actually, it's you know, it's like all these things, and I'm sure viewers would understand this. Both individuals are actually far nicer and more amusing than you might otherwise imagine."

"The kind of hostility that you see between politicians on screen is not often reflected in real life."

Back to the lift scenario, he added: "I think, provided it wasn't like 50 floors, I wouldn't mind either."

He almost "blacked out" with laughter at the Pink Panther films

Another random fact we learned about Johnson - he's a fan of the Pink Panther films and watches them with his kids.

"I find the Pink Panther films... I laugh so much I almost black out," he shared.

Johnson paints cows in his spare time

Now that Johnson is no longer in Number 10 and has more time on his hands, the backbencher revealed how he's been learning how to paint cows.

"At the moment I've got a project, which is to master the form of the cow. Cows are actually far more difficult to draw than you think," he explained.

"How many toes on the front does a cow have? It's two, and they've got a little thing on the heel.

"And what do you call that bit [pointing to his upper back] of the cow? I think it's called the withers.

"What do you call the back of the knee of the cow? The hock... They repay a lot of study. So, I'm filling a book now with cow.

He added: "Pictures of parts of cows, and a lot of whole cows and my objective is to master the cow. I'm getting there. Next stop, the horse after that."

Pretty surreal stuff.

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