Michael Gove’s efforts to “level up” hit a snag after he was trapped in a BBC lift for more than 30 minutes.
The Levelling Up secretary’s appearance on Radio 4 was delayed as a result of the mishap at Broadcasting House.
After he was rescued, the Surrey Heath MP joked that the incident may have provided inspiration for a new episode of the BBC-based satire W1A.
Gove told the programme: “After more than half an hour in the lift, you successfully levelled me up, so I’m delighted to be here.”
He acknowledged “these sorts of things happen, and if you and I together have given ammunition for (Thick Of It creator) Armando Iannucci or for the next episode of W1A, then fine.”
Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
When presenter Nick Robinson told him that a “free Michael Gove” hashtag was circulating on Twitter, Gove quipped: “I suspect there were rather more people hoping I would be incarcerated for longer.”
The #freemichaelgove campaign can boast of a quick win https://t.co/pzOhdKHuEG
— Nick Robinson (@bbcnickrobinson) January 10, 2022
Earlier, Robinson had told listeners: “Mr Gove is stuck in the Broadcasting House lift. I wish I could say this is a joke, it is not a joke and it is not very funny for Mr Gove and the security man, who have been stuck there for some time.”
The presenter suggested it was proof that “W1A is not, in fact, a satirical programme”.
Broadcast round thrown into chaos this morning, after Michael Gove gets stuck in a lift. pic.twitter.com/VaWjLv1AR6
— Ava-Santina (@AvaSantina) January 10, 2022
Hilariously, Gove later revealed on LBC that he texted BBC chairman Richard Sharp in order to be freed from the lift.
He said: “He made sure that a crack engineering team were dispatched. As someone pointed out, even though we had to wait half an hour, eventually I was levelled up.”
Gove added it was “very good advice from both a health and a safety point of view” to take the stairs out of the building.
After being trapped in a lift for half an hour Housing Secretary Michael Gove reveals he text the BBC Chairman to help secure his release.@NickFerrariLBC pic.twitter.com/vrCx7OadRc
— LBC (@LBC) January 10, 2022
It’s fair to say Twitter enjoyed the housing secretary’s Monday morning mishap, with people taking to social media to share their reactions.
One even jokingly congratulated the BBC for their great work in trapping Gove:
#r4today great work by the BBC, trapping @michaelgove in a lift! At last a responsible broadcaster!
— Stephen Hyde (@stephenhyde39) January 10, 2022
Michael Gove has been stuck in a lift at BBC's broadcasting house. He's now been released and says he's been "successfully levelled up." Happy Monday! 😅
— Rachel Bradley (@RachBradleyITV) January 10, 2022
And he’s out and on the radio. What a disappointingly short incident that was. Can we get him to try a zipline later?
— Mic Wright (@brokenbottleboy) January 10, 2022
No rush to rescue Michael Gove from the lift on our account, #r4today. We’re good.
— Jane Middleton (@cinnamontoastuk) January 10, 2022
I think I preferred it earlier, when Michael Gove was stuck in the BBC lift.
— Eduardo Reyes (@edreyesjourno) January 10, 2022
There, for a short while, was the full value of my licence fee. #r4today
Michael Gove’s lift, welcome to the resistance 😎
— James Felton (@JimMFelton) January 10, 2022
Each Broadcasting House lift plays a different radio station and here’s the one Michael Gove is stuck in. https://t.co/nixlkpMHM4
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) January 10, 2022
Given he acknowledged it was like a scene from The Thick of It or W1A, it seems Gove is being a good sport about it.
With reporting from PA.
