Jonathan Pie

Jonathan Pie is a fictional character created and portrayed by English comedian Tom Walker.

A political correspondent, Jonathan Pie appears in a series of online videos in which he rants and explodes in anger about the state of British, American and Australian politics, with the videos being presented as though he were a real reporter speaking his personal opinions to the camera before or after filming a regular news segment.^[1]

In Summer 2023, Tom Walker was heard on mainstream media for the first time when a new ten-part series 'Call Jonathan Pie' was broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

"Political journalist Jonathan Pie gets a radio phone-in show and as his personal and professional worlds collide we see why he's so incredibly angry about absolutely everything."^[2]

Interviewed by RT

RT interviewed him in 2015 and asked "Jonathan Pie is your stage name. What’s next for him?"

Tom Walker replied:

"I wouldn’t say he’s a stage name, he is a character that I’ve created. He’s new – there is a new clip that has become available on Jonathan Pie’s YouTube channel. "A lot of people were commenting after this, a lot of people were saying: 'Did he lose his job? He must have lost this job!' So I quite like the idea that we see what happens to him next. Of course he will be commenting on the news. In this particular episode he’s talking about the British National Health Service (NHS), and the reforms that are going on there. But actually it’s more about his relationship with this producer that is in his ear. And we find out that he has kept his job, but it’s safe to say he was given a bit of a talking to after his last outburst."^[3]

Moving on

In July 2016, Tom Walker told the Observer he is to cut ties with his controversial television network, RT, formerly Russia Today. The news channel is owned by the Russian state and is often criticised for operating as a propaganda tool for Vladimir Putin. Walker said that, while he was grateful for the platform RT had given Jonathan Pie, he was now ready to move on.^[4]

COP 26

On 1 December 2021, Spanner Films posted this short film entitled "The World's End" on YouTube:

Synopsis: "As all the environment correspondents are sick with COVID, reporter Jonathan Pie gets sent to the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow (aka COP26) despite knowing very little about the climate crisis. But he reckons he can wing it. Two embarrassing interviews with Ed Miliband and Caroline Lucas later, he bumps into an inebriated George Monbiot drowning his sorrows at 'The World's End' pub. Six pints later, Pie now fully understands the urgency of the existential crisis facing humanity, and, to the horror of his long-suffering producer Tim, he decides to convey his new-found knowledge live to the nation."^[5]

Kwarteng's mini-budget


Laying into Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget

On 26 September 2022, Jonathan Pie reluctantly described Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget as "a tax-cut bonanza". Here is a selection of over 1,000 comments on YouTube:

"A more balanced and honest view of this government than any mainstream media is willing to consider."
"The only thing that's going to trickle down, is the tears on people's faces who cannot pay their bills and buy food. This has gone beyond choosing between 'heating and eating'."
"Well said Mr Pie….I agree with every word."
"I used to really enjoy watching The Thick Of It…..it was (at least I thought) close enough to reality to be semi-believable yet far enough from reality to be satirically funny. Then the events of 2016 onwards proved it was indistinguishable from reality and the enjoyment went out like a light. I wish I lived in a time when Jonathan Pie sat in the sweet spot of reality/satire that I once believed TTOI did."
"I'd be laughing if it wasn't so horrifyingly true."
"The fact that not a single article was published about Kwasi's conduct during the Queen's funeral shows what a corrupt media landscape we have in the UK."
"I feel like a lot of the humour has gone from Pie's vids over the years and I think it's simply because Tom is finding it harder to joke about the state of things now. It's just all unremittingly grim and the impact of Conservative actions are becoming more and more apparent to the point that even a good number of Conservative voters are finding it hard to ignore (because they're not THAT well off and suddenly what was only impacting the very poorest is now impacting them). Don't get me wrong though, Tom's videos are still as vital as ever."^[6]