Welcome to #WT4 – our new interactive show where you take over Jon Snow’s questions. Our first guest was Alex Brooker from the Last Leg and The Jump. Watch again here.
So #WT4 is this? Well it’s Channel 4 News, but not as you know it.
You ask the questions, you’re in control. Our guest was Alex Brooker – who had to tackle Jon Snow, questions about his prosthetic leg and some rather dangerous-looking Russian sausages.
In front of an audience of students from Westminster Kingsway College, in central London, and young ambassadors for the charity Whizz-Kidz, Alex and Jon took questions from Twitter as well as the Channel 4 News website.
The Paralympics gave me my chance to be on telly. Alex Brooker
Alex now appears on The Last Leg and was recently a co-presenter on The Jump, but he first rose to fame as a reporter and presenter during the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
On Twitter @peoplespoet asked: “Do you think your TV career would be where it is today if you didn’t have a disability?”
Alex responded: “The Paralympics gave me my chance to be on telly – Channel 4 were looking for new presenters, and they wanted to use presenters who had disabilities and who had their unique take. Obviously that was my in.”
Had a blast on set today of new channel4news show #WT4 with Whizz-Kidz patron @alex_brooker andâ?¦ http://t.co/LQY7fs4SD3
— Whizz-Kidz (@WhizzKidz) February 17, 2014
My tweet being discussed by @jonsnowC4 and @alex_brooker on #wt4 – yup, that’s me on the screen in the background! pic.twitter.com/17p7iJ0Qg9
— Paul McNamara (@PGMcNamara) February 17, 2014
@RobmDyson @Katieevans251 @WhizzKidz #WT4 Glad to hear my comments met with satisfaction #phew. It was an amazingly memorable experience :)
— George Fielding (@GeorgeFielding1) February 17, 2014
Had a wonderful time sitting in on #WT4 @jonsnowC4 Great show, great meeting @alex_brooker :) pic.twitter.com/8AJfxLAlMc
— ShaquillaA. (@Quiillaa) February 17, 2014
Alex continued: “There were a lot of younger people watching the Paralympics in 2012 so there will be people who have been educated a lot more…hopefully that will have shown people what disabled people can do and also as well, actually, not every disabled person can be a Paralympian.”
@zerospooky on Twitter asked whether Alex had ever been a victim of trolling.
“I’ve had a few,” he replied. “If you get into a football debate on Twitter you’re asking for trouble…but it’s someone’s opinion, isn’t it.”
Alex also talked about his attempts at Paralympic glory in the shooting team – “I don’t think I really had the right mentality – you had to sit there and be quiet for an hour and a half…that is difficult!” and remained demure when questioned about the weirdest use he has found for his prosthetic leg: “I think this is still before the watershed.”
And the programme ended with the pair eating some Russian sausage in tribute to the Sochi Winter Olympics and Paralympics, after 53 per cent of viewers voted that they would rather see Alex and Jon try that than the caviar and pickled herring.
“I’m afraid you have to eat a bit of sausage,” Jon told Alex.
“I never thought I’d hear Jon Snow saying that to me,” responded Alex.
You can watch again above and tweet us your feedback – or fill in the form below.
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