Boris Johnson threatened to pull out of Rylan Clark-Neal interview because presenter ‘wasn’t qualified enough’

‘Why should I care if someone thinks I’m qualified or not?’ TV presenter said

'Not qualified enough': TV presenter Rylan Clark-Neal (left) and Boris Johnson (Getty Images)

Rylan Clark-Neal has said that Boris Johnson threatened to pull out of a scheduled interview with him as his advisers thought he “wasn’t qualified enough” to ask him questions.

The TV presenter claimed that Johnson’s appearance on This Morning in 2016, which occurred prior to the EU referendum, almost didn’t happen, as his team hadn’t realised that Clark-Neal would be standing in for regular host Philip Schofield on the day.

“When Boris and his team found out I was hosting the show, they nearly pulled the interview because they obviously didn’t think I was qualified enough,” Clark-Neal told The Mirror.

He said that he wasn’t told of the mild furore at the time.

“Obviously, This Morning didn’t tell me,” he continued. “I am sure it wasn’t him. It was probably someone on his team.”

He added: “I did [eventually] interview Boris. Why should I care if someone thinks I’m qualified or not?”

Clark-Neal was last month announced as the presenter of Channel 4’s Alternative Election Night, and has defended his hiring after critics claimed he wasn’t qualified to host the coverage.

• Read more

Chris Martin says he’ll ‘probably’ vote for Lib Dems in election

“I actually like the snobbery,” he said. “I love the fact that people think I’m not qualified and love the reaction of people that are going, ‘Why the f*** is he hosting the election?’

“Because I love nothing more than proving people wrong, and I have done for the last seven years.”

Clark-Neal came to fame competing on The X Factor in 2012, before presenting shows including Big Brother’s Bit on the Side, The Xtra Factor and the rebooted Supermarket Sweep.