Rebecca Long-Bailey has rated Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour party as "10 out of 10" but said her style would be different if she succeeded him.
The Labour leadership hopeful praised Mr Corbyn's character as she was asked to assess his performance at the party's helm.
She told ITV: "I thought Jeremy was one of the most honest, kind, principled politicians that I've ever met."
Pressed on a rating out of 10, she said: "Well I'd give him 10 out of 10 because I respect him and I supported him all the way through."
Ms Long-Bailey criticised negative media coverage Mr Corbyn and suggested Labour should have had a "rebuttal unit" to hit back against bad press.
The Salford MP, who has been a close Corbyn ally and part of his shadow cabinet since 2017, however said she was "not anybody's continuity candidate".
"We're very different in our approach to the way that we deal with policy, to the way that we speak," she told ITV.
Mr Corbyn announced he would step down following Labour's major election defeat, with a new leader set to be in place in April.
Ms Long-Bailey joins Sir Keir Starmer, Jess Phillips, Clive Lewis, Emily Thornberry and Lisa Nandy as those confirmed to run to replace him.
