Here is the nudes … naked academic who stunned Humphrys
IN his 30 years presenting the Today programme, John Humphrys must have thought he’d seen it all.
But the unflappable broadcast veteran was left rattled yesterday when anti-Brexit campaigner Dr Victoria Bateman stripped off naked in the studio.
During her interview, the Cambridge University professor took off her coat to reveal nothing to protect her modesty but the words ‘ Brexit leaves Britain naked’ scrawled across her body.
Mr Humphrys, 75, who the Mail this week revealed was quitting the early morning Radio 4 show, could not disguise his shock as the academic carried on fielding questions in the altogether.
The startled host, who said ‘Oh, I see you’re naked’, told listeners Dr Bateman had the words painted across her body.
But many said he struggled during a terse five-minute interview, in which he accused the naked economist of undermining her argument by not wearing clothes.
Dr Bateman – who also challenged leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg to a naked debate – said she decided to talk about Brexit with nothing on to demonstrate that leaving the EU is a case of the ‘emperor’s new clothes’.
She said the writing on her body carried three messages. ‘The first is that Brexit leaves Britain’s economy exposed,’ she added.
‘The second is that Brexit has served to reveal some anti-immigrant sentiments of a kind that we should be very much worried about as a society, and finally, Brexit exposes past government failures. Government failures that left many people feeling they have nothing to lose from Brexit because they have nothing at all.’
Mr Humphrys said the arguments had been made repeatedly by people wearing clothes – and suggested Dr Bateman, a fellow in economics at Gonville and Caius College who regularly delivers lectures in the nude, was simply an ‘exhibitionist’.
She said: ‘I am completely comfortable with my own body, I view women’s bodies as one of the big battlegrounds that we face today.
‘And actually by engaging with society about women’s bodies, one of the things it shows is the way in which people are quick to judge women purely on their bodies.’
Towards the end of the interview, Dr Bateman issued her challenge to Mr Rees-Mogg.
She said: ‘I invite Jacob ReesMogg to do a naked debate with me and we will get to the roots of this issue. Britain faces many, many problems right now from housing to the NHS, and the European Union is not the cause of those problems.’
Co-presenter Nick Robinson noted at the end of the interview: ‘I want you to know that my computer screen was strategically placed so I have only been listening to what was being said.’
The interview comes after accusations of dumbing down against Radio 4’s flagship current affairs programme. Interviews with the likes of the Spice Girls and Judi Dench have seen listeners claiming the show is becoming too ‘lightweight’ and devoting too much time to the arts.