David Lammy’s unfortunate answers to Celebrity Mastermind in 2009 resurface as he is given new role

Labour’s new shadow foreign secretary once thought the 2003 Rose Revolution took place in Yugoslavia and that Marie Antoinette won the Nobel Prize for physics as footage of his appearance on Celebrity Mastermind resurfaced following his promotion.

David Lammy MP, who was given the new role by Sir Keir Starmer this week, provided a number of unfortunate answers when he appeared on the BBC quiz show in 2009.

During a general knowledge round in which he got just five answers right, the MP for Tottenham thought Red Leicester cheese accompanied port and that Henry VII acceded the English throne after the death of Henry VIII. 

Mr Lammy also got a question wrong about his beloved Tottenham Hotspur when he was asked who scored England’s first goal of Fabio Capello’s reign, choosing to go for Aaron Lennon instead of Jermaine Jenas.

But as Labour’s new shadow foreign secretary, his answer in response to a question about the 2003 Rose Revolution will be most concerning.

Presenter John Humphrys asked ‘which country’s so-called “Rose Revolution” of 2003 led to the resignation of its president Eduard Shevardnadze’, to which Mr Lammy responded ‘Yugoslavia’, when the correct answer was in fact Georgia.

During a surprise reshuffle on Monday, Starmer promoted a number of prominent centrist figures and demoting his key allies.

Mr Lammy took over the role of shadow foreign secretary from Lisa Nandy who was moved to face off against Michael Gove as shadow secretary for levelling up and communities.

After his promotion, Mr Lammy, who has been an MP since 2000, said: ‘Honoured to be appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Affairs.

‘At a time when Britain is recasting itself on the world stage, I look forward to setting out Labour’s vision for a values-led foreign policy based on cooperation & internationalism.’

But within days of his promotion, his unfortunate appearance on Celebrity Mastermind resurfaced, much to the delight of social media users who labelled it ‘comedy gold’.

Days after his promotion in Labour’s reshuffle, Mr Lammy’s unfortunate appearance on Celebrity Mastermind from 2009 resurfaced

Pictured left next to Sir Keir Starmer, Yvette Cooper and Rachel Reeves, Mr Lammy incorrectly said the 2003 Rose Revolution took place in Yugoslavia

Mr Lammy scored eight points during his specialist subject on boxing legend Muhammad Ali, but could only manage five correct answers during the general knowledge round.

When asked which fortress used to defend the Gates of Paris was later used as a state prison, Mr Lammy said ‘Versailles’ and also thought James Gandolfini appeared in the Godfather rather than the Sopranos. 

He also thought the surname of scientists Marie and Pierre who won the Nobelm Prize for physics in 1903 was Antoinette, rather than Curie.

He also passed on five questions, including one about the name for the highest gallery of seats in a theatre, and the Purple Heart military award given to those who are wounded in action.

But between some of his more memorable incorrect answers, Mr Lammy was able to correctly identify that MI5 was founded in 1909 to counteract the threat of German spies, that William Hague claimed he downed 14 pints of beer a day while working as a delivery man’s assistant, the Coldplay lead singer as Chris Martin, that Oprah Winfrey had other business ventures and that the term penthouse originally meant a shed or out-house.