Dan Stevens' brutal takedown of Boris Johnson makes BBC presenters audibly gasp

People having a go at politicians on live TV is nothing new, but it's not often you get an actor styling out a long-winded burn with quite as much pizzazz as British actor Dan Stevens managed during his appearance on the BBC's The One Show.

On Wednesday, the Downton Abbeyand Eurovision Song Conteststar was being interviewed about his new Starz political thriller series, Gaslit, which is all about Richard Nixon and the 1970s Watergate scandal, which led to the president's resignation.

When asked to set the show up, though, this is what Stevens said:

Tweet may have been deleted

"Well what you've got is a criminal for a leader who is wrapped in a messy war, embroiled in a stupid scandal and surrounded by ambitious idiots, and really should resign," Stevens says in the clip above.

"And...um...no, I'm sorry, that's the intro to Boris Johnson. I've just said the intro to Boris Johnson, I'm so sorry."

You really can't fault the delivery, which was met with a combination of muffled laughter and shocked gasps from the presenters and crew in the room.

This is an ICONIC One Show moment.

Mel Brooks “what a crazy show this is” worthy. pic.twitter.com/owXmMQjWFX

— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) April 13, 2022

Johnson, it's worth noting, has recently received a police fine for breaching lockdown rules with parties and gatherings at government residences in the summer of 2020. He's faced calls by some to resign, but has refused.

The clip of Stevens — which the actor himself has since retweeted — has been viewed almost 6 million times on Twitter.