Alastair Campbell was handed an Ofcom banned words list by 'Good Morning Britain' bosses before his guest presenting debut today (10.05.21) - because producers were "worried" he would "go all Malcolm Tucker".
Alastair Campbell
The former Labour Party spin doctor appeared alongside co-host Susanna Reid on the show today, and he admitted producers were concerned he might turn into Peter Capaldi's antihero 'The Thick of It' character - who acts as the Prime Minister's chief enforcer overseeing cabinet ministers in the political satire show - so they gave him a list of words not to say live on the programme.
Susanna said: "I was interested to know, Alastair, that part of your briefing was that you had been issued with the Ofcom banned words list."
Alastair - who worked as former Prime Minister Tony Blair's spokesman and campaign director in the mid-90s - said: "Some of them, I didn't even know it existed.
"I think they were worried I was going to go all Malcolm Tucker on you, Susanna, which I promise I won't."
Susanna - whose previous co-host Piers Morgan quit the show after making controversial comments about Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, which sparked more than 57,000 Ofcom complaints - replied: "I have never been issued with the Ofcom banned words list."
Earlier in the show, Susanna welcomed Alastair to 'GMB' and admitted it was the "perfect week" for him to be on after Labour suffered some big losses in last week's local elections.
She said: "Welcome to the programme. It's a perfect week to have you on."
He replied: "Thank you very much. It's not a perfect week."
But Susanna insisted it was an ideal time to have Alastair on because 'GMB' were asking "what is the point of the Labour party and is it the beginning of the end?".
He replied: "That is why it's not a perfect week."
Alastair described Labour's current situation as "a mess" and admitted it is "bad for [his] health" amid guest hosting 'GMB' this week to mark Mental Health Awareness Week.
He said: "One of the reasons I wanted to do this week is for Mental Health Awareness Week, but we've now got Labour Party existential crisis and United Kingdom existential crisis, and both of those things are bad for my health."
Alastair admitted he slept "OK" last night before his 'GMB' debut, but he is concerned about this evening because his beloved Burnley FC are kicking off at 8pm.
When asked by Susanna how his sleep was, he said: "OK, I went to bed at 9.30pm and I woke up at 4am. It was OK.
"Tonight I'm worried about, because Burnley have got a game and it's an 8pm kick off. Couldn't they have brought it back a bit?
"I normally do the commentary but I've handed it over tonight, because that would be bed by midnight - I'm not doing that one."
Tagged in Susanna Reid