Nigella Lawson, Richard Osman and Russell T Davies lead celebrity reactions to Tory general election defeat

Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies and celebrity chef Nigella Lawson were among the stars celebrating as Labour won a landslide general election victory.

Reactions flooded in as it was confirmed that Sir Keir Starmer would become the UK’s next prime minister, while Conservative leader Rishi Sunak admitted defeat.

Lawson appeared to celebrate Liz Truss’s defeat in her south-west Norfolk constituency, where she lost her seat to Labour’s Terry Jermy in one of the biggest shocks of election night.

The Cook, Eat, Repeat, presenter tweeted a cartwheel emoji, a lettuce emoji and another cartwheel emoji.

Truss came to be associated with a lettuce after a tabloid newspaper livestreamed footage of the vegetable to see if it would last longer than her tenure in No 10.

Meanwhile, former Countdown star Carol Vorderman hailed the use of tactical voting, saying it contributed to the defeat of high profile Conservatives including former prime minister Truss.

“BREAKING Liz Truss lost her seat due to Tactical voting and YOU,” Vorderman wrote on X/Twitter. “She lost by 630 votes BUT A massive c 4,500 postcodes in South West Norfolk constituency were typed into our website http://stopthetories.vote during this GE campaign.

“7 times more than her vote loss. I can tell you around 1.75 MILLION POSTCODES have been typed into http://stopthetories.vote during the general election campaign.

“Lots of analysis to come. So many seats where this has happened.”

Carol Vorderman celebrated the general election results (C4)
Carol Vorderman celebrated the general election results (C4)

Appearing on Channel 4’s live election broadcast, she appeared jubilant as she said: “A Labour landslide! Fourteen years of corruption, lies and gaslighting, you’ve got two ex-disgraced Tory chancellors in the studio,” she said. “You’ve got Nadine Dorries, a woman who barely turned up last year as an MP.

“And everybody out there is thinking, ‘No more of this – no more of the lies, of the deceit, of the corruption, of the VIP PPE lane scandal, the betting scandal.’

“Who could ever have thought that a government would be as utterly, utterly banal and ridiculous as this one?”

Richard Osman shared a comment from his mother, writing: “Amongst all the hot takes this morning, I’m very happy for my Mum, born and raised in the heart of Sussex.”

The TV presenter and author’s mum apparently messaged him: “At least, I’m being represented by someone I voted for. It’s only taken 82 years.”

Davies appeared particularly pleased by the ousting of veteran Conservative MP Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, who was defeated by Labour’s Dan Norris on the new north-east Somerset and Hanham constituency.

The Brexiteer was defeated by Labour’s Dan Norris in the new north-east Somerset and Hanham constituency.

Davies shared the viral photo of Rees-Mogg lounging in the front bench of the House Of Commons and wrote: “At last,” adding a celebration emoji.

He added the location of the post as: “New World.”

Russell T Davies celebrated the general election results (PA Wire)
Russell T Davies celebrated the general election results (PA Wire)

Sir Elton John’s husband, filmmaker David Furnish, commented, “Bye Felicia” on the post.

Both John and Furnish threw their support behind Starmer in a video message that was played to hundreds of cheering Labour supporters last week.

In the message, the “I’m Still Standing” star said: “It’s heartbreaking to see the hopes of Britain’s next generation of creative talent downtrodden and destroyed by bureaucracy and red tape.

He continued: “That’s why we’re backing Keir and Labour to win this election. There is only one choice. Let’s help artists cut through the red tape that prevents them from thriving and contributing to this country’s future success. Let’s show the world what a creative, prosperous and forward-thinking nation Britain is.”

He told his audience: “Let’s get behind Labour to win on 4 July.”

Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway shared a video of herself at a north London count calling down to the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to congratulate him after he was re-elected as MP for Holborn and St Pancras.

“@gmb is the first at 2.40am to welcome Sir Keir into his new role. Check out his smile and wave, and the cheer,” she wrote.

Additional reporting by Press Association

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