Devastated Jeremy Vine pays tribute as friend and | UK News

A “devastated” Jeremy Vine has paid tribute to his pricey friend and Channel 5 co-star, Ann Widdecombe. Taking to Instagram on Friday, the TV star remembered Ann as “very, very kind” and “one of the most extraordinary politicians of the age”.

“Two minutes in the past, I heard the news about Ann Widdecombe,” he started. “She’s been so much a part of my life on Radio 2 and Channel 5. I honestly think she’s just one of the most extraordinary politicians of the age. She had that cruel nickname in the 80s, Doris Karloff, and I said I thought it was terrible and she said, ‘I don’t mind it, I used to pick up the phone and say Karloff here.’

Describing Ann as energetic and “principled,” Jeremy noted that whenever she appeared on his Channel 5 show, a viewer would always remark that she should have been Prime Minister. Revealing that he often joked with Ann that she had another cabinet job left in her, the presenter noted that she’s always so no, and ” beloved going back to Devon and residing in that home on Dartmoor”.

Jeremy concluded: “You had been true, you had been true to your self, and you had been type, and we’re going to miss you so a lot.”

Ann, a former MP and MEP, died on Thursday at the age of 78. A statement from her management said: “It is with great unhappiness that today we announce the death of the Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe, DSG. We ship our deepest condolences to Ann’s household and associates. We ask that the household’s want not to be contacted at this unhappy time is revered.”