Theresa May deploys weapon of mass domesticity
Philip takes out the bins because it's a "boy job", the PM says, as she and her husband paint a picture of life at Chez May.
Wednesday 10 May 2017 20:35, UK
Theresa May deployed a weapon of mass domesticity on Tuesday - her husband of 37 years, Philip - in a bid to show the public this particular iron lady has a softer side.
The credits had barely rolled before the Prime Minister revealed that Philip put the bins out because that was a "boy's job".
Mrs May chimed in and said: "There's boy jobs and girl jobs you see," to which her husband replied that he did the "traditional boy jobs by and large."
A self-described "bloody difficult woman", who's pitching herself as a tough Brexit negotiator, Mrs May's team were keen to use their first ever joint television interview to showcase her more personal side.
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In a potted history of their romance, the couple said it was love at first sight when they met at a disco as undergraduates at Oxford University. Mr May said he thought his wife was a "lovely girl", adding that "she still is".
To which his wife replied: "Likewise".
Asked whether he "fancied her instantly", Mr May said: "Absolutely, it was love at first sight."
He also confirmed that the Prime Minister's ministerial red boxes were kept out of their bedroom.
"I don't think it's made an appearance. I've never had to try to shoo it out," he joked.
In a slightly awkward section, the Prime Minister also touched on the fact she'd never had children, as she recounted a story of being a victim of "fake news" when a newspaper wrongly claimed Mrs May had a "new baby".
Mrs May, who revealed last year when she was standing for the Conservative leadership that she had been unable to have children, said there was a story in the local newspaper saying she'd struggle to be selected as a Conservative candidate because of a baby that she didn't have.
Mr May said his mother called him and asked whether "there was something we hadn't told her", as the Prime Minister rather poignantly added her mother-in-law was "disappointed".
Appearing on the BBC's One Show, the Prime Minister and her husband tried to give the public a glimpse of life Chez May and the PM was certainly looking far more relaxed than she has in recent days on the campaign trail.
Mrs May used the interview to try to deflect criticism over her robotic delivery by revealing domestic details, discussing who did the cooking in the May household (Philip made tea from "time to time") and how the wardrobe divided (Philip has a "small section").
But there was some political news too, with Mr May revealing that his wife had wanted to be prime minister for 18 years - ever since she joined the shadow cabinet in 1998.
Mr May said he had "never heard Theresa say she wanted to be prime minister until she was well established in the shadow cabinet", suggesting that she'd had her eye on the top job for nearly two decades before finally becoming the Prime Minister last year.
She also revealed that she has wanted to become an MP since she was a schoolgirl.
The Prime Minister even managed to make a joke, confirming that Brexit did not mean the UK has to pull out of the Eurovision song contest.
"But I'm tempted to say that in current circumstances, I'm not sure how many votes we'll get."