Nicola Murray, the much maligned Minister of Social Affairs and Citizenship, along with her shadow Minister, Peter Mannion, are invited to appear on a BBC Radio 5 talk show hosted by Richard Bacon. Murray wants to push her "Fourth Sector Path Finder" initiative that will inspire people out of poverty, but Bacon criticises the many weak points behind it.
Mannion is also blind-sided by Bacon who wants to focus on big bonuses for fat-cat City bankers. The problem is that many of Mannion's friends work in banking and he is going to find it difficult to criticise them publicly.
The respective spin doctors - Martin Tucker for Murray and Stuart Pearson, Mannion - listen in at their offices and soon realise that their Ministers are going way off-message to the point where both of them have to go to the studio and get them back on focus.
On a slightly more domestic front both Emma and Ollie (both of whom work for their respective Ministers) are eating at home together while listening to the radio broadcast. Emma is seriously focused on what is being said by Mannion, while Ollie is trying for a more romantic evening in order to strengthen their relationship and failing miserably.
An intriguing if somewhat claustrophobic episode. It was good to see both Mannion and Murray being interrogated by an independent source (Bacon) rather than being back at the office and protected by their staff and the likes of Pearson and Tucker.
This match-up is even more intriguing since Murray wants to help people out of poverty but hasn't got a clue how to do it; and Mannion who wants to defend his extremely rich friends with City bonuses - one extreme to the other.
But because something like 80% of the episode takes place in the confining, oppressive BBC studio it does make for a rather intense but revealing 30 minutes.
It was also good to see both Tucker and Pearson go head to head over policy, even resorting to name calling and blackmailing. Which only underlines how untrustworthy and duplicitous they both are when pressed.
Richard Bacon, who plays himself, is also quite excellent as the passive/aggressive interviewer and gives equal measure of cynicism to both ministers.
A good episode, but the claustrophobic feel throughout is a bit much at times.
Mannion is also blind-sided by Bacon who wants to focus on big bonuses for fat-cat City bankers. The problem is that many of Mannion's friends work in banking and he is going to find it difficult to criticise them publicly.
The respective spin doctors - Martin Tucker for Murray and Stuart Pearson, Mannion - listen in at their offices and soon realise that their Ministers are going way off-message to the point where both of them have to go to the studio and get them back on focus.
On a slightly more domestic front both Emma and Ollie (both of whom work for their respective Ministers) are eating at home together while listening to the radio broadcast. Emma is seriously focused on what is being said by Mannion, while Ollie is trying for a more romantic evening in order to strengthen their relationship and failing miserably.
An intriguing if somewhat claustrophobic episode. It was good to see both Mannion and Murray being interrogated by an independent source (Bacon) rather than being back at the office and protected by their staff and the likes of Pearson and Tucker.
This match-up is even more intriguing since Murray wants to help people out of poverty but hasn't got a clue how to do it; and Mannion who wants to defend his extremely rich friends with City bonuses - one extreme to the other.
But because something like 80% of the episode takes place in the confining, oppressive BBC studio it does make for a rather intense but revealing 30 minutes.
It was also good to see both Tucker and Pearson go head to head over policy, even resorting to name calling and blackmailing. Which only underlines how untrustworthy and duplicitous they both are when pressed.
Richard Bacon, who plays himself, is also quite excellent as the passive/aggressive interviewer and gives equal measure of cynicism to both ministers.
A good episode, but the claustrophobic feel throughout is a bit much at times.
