“Winging it that health fella Hancock, winging it, I just can’t watch him, drives me mad,” lamented Tom Parker-Bowles on William Sitwell’s jolly twice weekly Biting Talk Instagram TV show on Tuesday.

Sounding a bit like “not another one” squawking ‘Brenda from Bristol’ in his spot-on summary, the Mail on Sunday restaurant critic did indeed share the view of the nation about the hapless health secretary. Here, in Hancock, is someone Brenda would simply surmise just perfectly with her trademark “You’re joking! Absolutely weird! I just can’t stand him!”

Continuing, the Duchess of Cornwall’s “quaffed” son reflected the public’s desire for simplicity in commenting: “I’ve really missed going to the pub for a pint with friends, it’s just these things we take for granted… I am not particularly interested in high art or tasting menus… I would take a rubbish pub for now.”

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Of the impending reopening of boozers and eateries, Parker-Bowles called for “common sense and respect” and again in Brenda-esque “we need a bit of guts to get us going” fashion added:

“We all want to make sure this awful pandemic is wiped out in the end… Let’s concentrate on the positive… But, hopefully everyone will pile back in.”

“This is our life, it is our joy… It is about convincing the public… This is not the time to be taking down restaurants, it is about the time to be looking for the good. This is a time that all of us come together to fight for restaurants, to fight for them and get them back.”

Concluding, of to his life in lockdown, the writer shared some of his experiences and thoughts. He declared his dislike for the hideously vapid phrase “the new normal,” his desire to see friends again and announced:

“I’m reading the Alan Clark’s diaries again. They’re fantastic. He wouldn’t do well today, but who knows, he might. He’d probably be on Breitbart or something like that.”

Brenda would most certainly agree.

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Pearl clad pensioner ‘Brenda from Bristol’ became the unlikely star of the 2017 General Election when she shared her views about politics with a BBC reporter. This 75-year old retired secretary spoke for the nation in remarking: “You’re joking? Not another one!” Oh for God’s sake, I can’t honestly… I can’t stand this. There’s too much politics going on at the moment. Why does she [Theresa May] need to do it?” and later added: “There’s hardly anybody in any of the parties that you’d put your life on the line for. We need somebody who’s got a little bit of guts to get us all going”.
Hancock gets a Brenda-ering – Tom Parker-Bowles with William Sitwell – Restaurant critic Tom Parker-Bowles does a ‘Brenda from Bristol’ in suggesting Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s telly box appearances “drive him mad” on William Sitwell’s ‘Biting Talk’
Devoted foodies William Sitwell and Tom Parker-Bowles have previously worked together on the popular BBC television series ‘Celebrity MasterChef’ (pictured above with fellow critic Grace Dent).
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Hancock gets a Brenda-ering – Tom Parker-Bowles with William Sitwell – Restaurant critic Tom Parker-Bowles does a ‘Brenda from Bristol’ in suggesting Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s telly box appearances “drive him mad” on William Sitwell’s ‘Biting Talk’
William Sitwell’s ‘Biting Talk’ is a twice weekly “must watch” on Instagram TV. Each episode lasts 45-minutes and aside from regulars such as the cocktail maestro Farhad Heydari, guests have numbered Andrew Heald of Fishers Gin (reviewed recently in ‘The Steeple Times’) and Charlie Gilkes, co-founder of the Inception Group. Sitwell has recently launched a new venture, William’s House Wines (to be featured in ‘The Steeple Times’ shortly).
Hancock gets a Brenda-ering – Tom Parker-Bowles with William Sitwell – Restaurant critic Tom Parker-Bowles does a ‘Brenda from Bristol’ in suggesting Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s telly box appearances “drive him mad” on William Sitwell’s ‘Biting Talk’
Tom Parker-Bowles pictured with his mother, the Duchess of Cornwall, at the launch of his cookbook ‘Christmas & Other Winter Feasts’ at Fortnum & Mason in St James’s, London in October 2018. The event, in the store’s Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon, was also attended by Richard Bacon, Jimmy Carr, Tess Daly and Stanley Tucci according to ‘Hello!’ magazine.