Hot Podium Guy is back once again as Andy Burnham officially becomes Prime Minister

It’s a big day at Downing Street, which means Britain’s most sought-after political figure is once again outside Number 10: Hot Podium Guy.

Tobias Gough is a sound engineer who has acquired quite the following in recent years, known for bringing out the famed lectern for PMs.

Like Larry the Chief Mouser, he’s been spotted at various significant political moments, including the resignation announcements of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

He added Keir Starmer to that collection last month when the Labour leader confirmed that he would be stepping down.

Now, with Andy Burnham arriving at Number 10, Gough is back despite speculation that the incoming PM might not use a traditional lectern.

Thankfully, Hot Podium Guy was back in his black t-shirt setting up the podium last seen on Starmer’s exit.

Gough, from Longfield, in Kent, first reached meme status in 2019 when Theresa May resigned. His most recent cameo came in 2024 following Rishi Sunak’s first address and the announcement of a general election.

His job involves not only testing microphones and bringing out the PMs’ lecterns but also sometimes revealing them for the first time.

The podiums each take around three weeks to manufacture and cost between £2,000 and £4,000, with the Prime Minister allowed to help design them.

Speaking previously, Gough, who is typically seen in a tight-fitting black T-shirt, admitted his internet fame came as a surprise, blushing that he is ‘not model material’.

He told the Daily Mail in 2019: ‘I have to say, it was great lighting to make me look that good; the sun must have been at the right angle.

‘I can assure people that I don’t usually look as well as that – I won’t be going into the modelling business just yet.

‘I’m 36, so I think my best days may be well behind me, but it’s been very funny reading all the comments on social media.’

Gough’s wife, Tina, whom he married in a quiet ceremony in Scotland two weeks before the pandemic struck, has also taken his popularity ‘in good spirits’.

While the former mayor of Manchester might be the sixth PM in 10 years, there’s only one Hot Podium Guy.