In what was billed as a re-match after their clash in the pages of a glossy magazine earlier this year, columnist and darling of the Left, Owen Jones, has interviewed former Tony Blair spin doctor Alastair Campbell.
The tension between the two rests on the pair representing the warring factions of the Labour Party - put crudely, the Corbynistas and the Blairites
So the fast-talking Jones grilling Campbell, an uncompromising figure, had box office potential. Little wonder the Guardian had the cameras rolling.
And while there are plenty of big issues to chew over as Campbell promotes his latest book, social media was less concerned about re-litigating tensions between Blair and Gordon Brown, or their views on the party’s current leadership.
In fact, social media became mildly obsessed with their opening interaction after Jones arrived half-an-hour late.
Jones: “It’s not my fault.”
Campbell: “What do you mean it’s not your fault?”
Jones: “I didn’t cause a road accident in Harringay, did I?”
Campbell: ″Listen, you’ve got to plan, you’ve got to prepare for these things.”
Jones: “Unbelieveable, got to plan things, have you ... like Iraq?”
You could hang a freezeframe of Campbell’s reaction in the National Gallery. It’s a masterpiece.
Reaction trickled out through the day, and was what you might charitably describe as mixed.
Here’s an extended, banter-laden cut of their exchanges.
Though the Guardian itself described the head-to-head as a ‘Thick Of It’ moment, other sitcoms were brought to mind.
Given the response on the Twittersphere, Jones later took to Twitter to add some context.
File under #bantz.