“I’m having the time of my life, it’s amazing,” says Zack Polanski, eyes twinkling, in his signature navy blue suit (Vinted, Uniqlo) eating a vegan breakfast in one of his favourite cafés in Dalston. He’s facing the wall but such are his quite astonishing newfound levels of popularity he has already been approached by fans. The 43-year-old headlined at Heaven the night before and social media was duly flooded with videos of admirers genuflecting to him.
What’s it like to be famous? “Surreal is the place I would start,” he grins, “but quite early on I had a moment where I thought, I got into politics because I love connecting with people and I love community, so actually I’m loving it. Ninety nine per cent of the interactions have been positive,” he continues, taking a thoughtful sip of tea with oat milk. “Online is a very different conversation. That’s a toxic cesspit… I get homophobic abuse, I get antisemitic abuse, I regularly get death threats…”
