A Coatbridge schoolboy was called “a wee star” by the First Minister after his inspired Halloween costume and impression of the comic takes on her daily briefings had hundreds of thousands of views online.
Jacob Ferguson decided to dress up as Nicola Sturgeon for the weekend’s celebrations, and made a video delivering his very own take on the now-famous voiceover videos of her daily speeches made by comedian Janey Godley.
The seven-year-old’s performance has been viewed more than 700,000 times since it was shared on Twitter by mum Alyson Welsh, earning praise from a host of celebrities – and he is now is scheduled to appear on breakfast TV show Good Morning Britain tomorrow (Tuesday).
His topical costume, a wig and a purple dress belonging to his mum, was inspired by a suggestion by big brother Lucas, nine.
Alyson said: “The idea to dress up as politicians actually came from my older son, Lucas, who wanted to go to school dressed as Boris Johnson; Jacob then said, ‘can I go as Nicola Sturgeon?’ and it went from there.”
The video sees St Patrick’s Primary pupil Jacob deliver well-known lines from Janey Godley’s voiceovers, beginning: “Ye were telt, stay in the hoose – nae parties, save lives.”
He adds further catchphrases including “Ma feet are killin’ me” and “Where’s ma clicky pen?” before exiting the stage saying: “Frank, get the door; I want a haggis supper, and make sure it’s deep fried.”
Alyson’s original tweet has had nearly 22,000 likes as well as 1200 replies and 4600 retweets since being posted on Friday; with Janey Godley calling Jacob “great” and Ms Sturgeon sending her thanks to the Coatbridge family.
The First Minister shared the video, saying: “This has made me smile and given me a much-needed laugh. What a wee star – I think we might draft him in for the daily briefings!”
Speaking to the Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser’s sister paper, the Daily Record, Alyson said: “I couldn’t believe it when I realised the First Minister had responded to the video, and that she loved it.
“Jacob called me from school and said he was ‘speechless’, which is a first for him.”
Alyson later posted online: “I can’t quite believe how this tweet has taken off! Thank you to everyone who has made such lovely comments, we are delighted to have brought some joy.”
Jacob is a student at UK Theatre School in Glasgow, whose principal, Lizanne Lambie Thomson said: “He’s shown he has great talents in the performing arts and has stood out as exceptional on many occasions during classes.
“We love Jacob’s passion and enthusiasm for everything he takes on, and his impersonation of the First Minister brought big smiles to everyone’s faces – at this time that’s a bonus, so we say very well done!”
