Rob Beckett has joked that he’s an “accidental activist” after unintentionally leading a Just Stop Oil protest.
In the clip shared on TikTok, Beckett explained that he’d decided to walk along Whitehall on Monday (3 October) while en route to record his voiceover for Celebs Go Dating.
However, he’d found himself getting among a protest by climate activists from the Just Stop Oil collective, who are demonstrating every day in October to demand climate action.
“So I was getting a taxi to work, right, I put my Crocs on because I was in a taxi and the VO booth for Celebs Go Dating, but some people have decided to glue themselves to the floor protesting and everything’s at a standstill,” Beckett explained.
After reading the Just Stop Oil name, he said: “F*** sake. I was in an electric cab as well.”
In a clip recorded later, Beckett explained: “Well, that was an absolute disaster. I ended up being in the march, I was just by accident [in] the Just Stop Oil march and then ITV News ended up interviewing me and all the paparazzi started taking photos of me.
“I’ve got a tracksuit on and Crocs and then I was like, ‘I’m not in the march, I’m not in the march,’ but I was in the march because I was with all the people. So then I got to the front and then they started filming me and it looked like I was leading the march.”
He added: “It’s gonna look mental, I hope it doesn’t go on the telly but at one point, by accident, I was leading a protest through Whitehall. Different style to my Monday morning.”
A clip of Beckett being interviewed on ITV News was broadcast in London, with the comedian seen explaining: “I’m not in the protest… I took a cab to work and now I’m in a protest by accident.”
The comedian shared a photo from the event to Instagram, writing: “The Dad backpack, the police, Shaq t-shirt, holding my jumper like a nan, the protest, the police and crocs in sports mode. That’s how I lead a protest.”
Just Stop Oil are a collection of groups working together to ensure the government does not approve new ways of discovering fossil fuels.
The activist collective are protesting across the capital city throughout October, including meeting at Downing Street every morning from Monday (3 October), to demand climate action amid the environmental and cost of living crises.
