The One Show in 'incredibly awkward' live TV moment as guest John Cleese asks who hosts Roman Kemp and Lauren Laverne are
'What's your name?!'John Cleese left Roman Kemp and Lauren Laverne facing an awkward introduction when he asked both The One Show presenters to tell him their names.
Roman has co-presented the BBC magazine programme since 2022, including The One Show’s 20th anniversary special. Lauren joined the presenting team the following year and has a long radio career that includes hosting BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs.
Their encounter with John came during Tuesday evening’s programme, when the Monty Python star appeared alongside MasterChef critic Grace Dent and former Love Island contestant Shakira Khan.
The One Show guest John Cleese asks who hosts Roman Kemp and Lauren Laverne are
The central exchange began when John turned to Roman and said: “I like this show, what’s your name?”
After Roman introduced himself, the comedian replied: “I’ve only known one Roman, Roman Polanski.”
Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor before leaving the US. He has not returned to the country or travelled to nations likely to extradite him.
Roman responded to John’s reference by saying: “He’s another famous Roman, indeed.”
John repeated, “Another famous Roman,” before pointing towards Lauren and asking Roman: “And your friend, what’s her name?”
Lauren gave her name twice after Cleese failed to catch it the first time. He then told her: “That’s a nice name too.”
The comedian brought the introductions to a close by saying: “Very good. Well I’m very happy to be on the show.”
Roman answered: “We’re very grateful to have you.”
‘He’s lost the plot’
A clip of the moment circulated on X with the description “awkward chatter” and attracted about 800,000 views at this point.
People responding online offered contrasting interpretations of Cleese’s behaviour. Some took the questions as genuine confusion and expressed concern about the appearance.
“Incredibly awkward,” one user wrote.
“Got to the age where he does not care,” another person insisted.
“This explains his Twitter activity. He’s lost the [bleep]ing plot,” a third said.
“They were obviously [bleep]ing themselves in case he said something offensive. The tension looked crazy,” a fourth added.
Others believed John had deliberately pretended not to recognise Roman and Lauren as part of a comedy routine.
“It’s funny and charming. Deliberately so,” one said.
“He’s toying with them. He knows exactly what he’s doing,” another person shared.
“He was playing with them. One of the reasons that his comedy is successful is that disrupts the norm and makes people shift uneasily in their seats at times,” a third declared.
How The One Show interview continued
John had also continued applauding at the start of the programme after others in the studio had stopped. Following the unusual introductions, Roman and Lauren moved the conversation on to Monty Python.
That shift allowed the presenters to continue discussing the comedy work for which John remains best known, rather than dwelling on the opening exchange.
The One Show airs on weekdays at 7pm on BBC One.
