Six years on and people are still celebrating Ed Balls Day? The accidental tweet that keeps on giving

Ed Balls

Published: Friday, 28 April 2017 at 7:50 am

On 28th April 2011, Labour MP Ed Balls was browsing the aisles of Asda as he hunted down the ingredients for a pulled pork BBQ. Then he decided to search his own name on Twitter.

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Pulling out his Blackberry, he typed in "Ed Balls" - and pressed send.

What he didn't realise, of course, was that he'd accidentally tweeted his own name.

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The tweet became an instant phenomenon, and since then Ed Balls Day has been celebrated every year.

Why? Because why not.

But 2017 is a very special Ed Balls Day, because a) we're in the middle of an election campaign and Ed Balls is a former shadow chancellor, and b) this is the year the public fell in love with Ed Balls on Strictly Come Dancing.

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Ed Balls himself is happy to be in on the joke, even signing copies of his legendary tweet - and making a special cake for his wife.

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Now the question is: how will we explain Ed Balls Day to our grandchildren?

Authors

Eleanor Bley GriffithsDrama Editor, RadioTimes.com

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