Alex Jones recalls Matt Baker’s headline-making question to David Cameron: ‘I don’t think he meant it like that’

A 2011 interaction between Matt Baker and the former Prime Minister has gone down in ‘The One Show’ history

Alex Jones has looked back at one of The One Show’s most memorable interviews involving her former co-host Matt Baker and the then-Prime Minister, David Cameron.

Jones, who has been a main presenter on the BBC One evening magazine show since 2010, has been present for some of the programme’s landmark moments.

During an appearance on the Off Menu podcast this week, Jones was asked about The One Show’s 2011 live interview with Cameron.

Towards the end of the segment, Baker had a quick additional question for the Conservative politician: “How do you sleep at night?”

Viewers were surprised and entertained at the hard-line implication of the presenter’s query, as it clashed with the usual lightness of the programme.

“I’ve always managed to sleep okay,” Cameron replied. “If you work hard during the day and get your stuff done, try and put it behind you. At the end of the day, if you’re exhausted you’ll make rotten decisions.”

However, Jones has doubts about the intention of Baker’s infamous question.

“I don't think he meant it [like], ‘How do you sleep because of all this terrible stuff going on in your mind?’” she told show hosts Ed Gamble and James Acaster.

“I think he meant, ‘Because you’re so busy, do you sleep? You’re running a country, how do you sleep?’ And I think Matt ran with it because it was a bit cooler, the other version. But who knows what was in his brain at that time.”

Despite the confusion at Baker’s question, the crew at The One Show revelled in Baker’s moment of controversy all the same.

Matt Baker and Alex Jones in 2011 (Getty Images)

“They got T-shirts printed at work with that question on the back,” Jones revealed.

Another meme-worthy moment came when Sesame Street icon Cookie Monster appeared on the programme wearing a Remembrance Day poppy in November 2016.

“I didn't even know how they were gonna pin it on, to be fair, without hurting him!” Jones joked.

“That's not an outfit he’s wearing; that's his body. They were actually stabbing the Cookie Monster through his blue fur. That's how much he loves The One Show. He was like, ‘I'm gonna take this stabbing through my body to put a poppy on, not to upset Britain.’”

Jones, who also hosts the BBC Two programme Reunion Hotel, also recently spoke about how her relationship with presenter Steve Jones ended over a betrayal involving Angelina Jolie.