STRICTLY THE BOSH

Why would US vice-president JD Vance meet up with reality TV star Tom Skinner, known for saying ‘bosh’ and his tan? Zoé Beaty takes a closer look at why it works for both of them

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He made a name for himself peddling pillows with all the gusto of a modern-day Del Boy: the “absolute guv’nor” of “graft” who belts out “Bosh!” like a battle cry and has somehow made the way he pours gravy a key element of his persona.

This is Thomas, or Tom Skinner, or “The Original Bosh” as he calls himself, a Very British Businessman who found fame on TheApprentice — and just a few years later, improbably (or not, as it may be) finds himself sharing beers with the vice-president of the United States, and at the centre of a burgeoning class culture war.

This week, 34-year-old Skinner is facing a wave of criticism over that meeting and his latest career turn. The circulating image of the latter created somewhat of a storm - Skinner, wearing a suit and his famous grin, leaning over a much more casually attired JD Vance, both awkwardly giving a thumbs up.

Writing on social media, Skinner said: “When the vice president of the USA invites ya for a BBQ [and] beers, you say yes. Unreal night with JD and his friends n family. He was a proper gent. Lots of laughs and some fantastic food. A brilliant night, one to tell the grandkids about, mate. Bosh.”

Within hours, the photo of the unlikely diplomatic exchange was ricocheting across social media, accumulating tens of thousands of likes. The meeting - at a “booze-fuelled” summer barbecue in the Cotswolds - took place during Vance’s English holiday, in the same week he met Reform UK leader Nigel Farage for breakfast.

The pair bonded in recent weeks after Vance sent him a supportive meme on X and their online friendship culminated in the invitation to the event with the vice-president. The question is, why would Donald Trump’s right-hand man have any interest in being seen with Skinner, a perennially tanned, former market trader from Romford, Essex? For the same reason that the BBC announced him as an upcoming contestant on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.