I first met Thomas Skinner on the 2019 series of The Apprentice, where we formed an unlikely friendship over the fry-ups he would cook for the contestants during our eight weeks of filming. At first glance, you might assume someone who prefers white vans and market stalls would have little in common with someone whose tastes lean towards Harrods and afternoon tea at The Dorchester.

Yet we clicked instantly.

Over the years, from our encounter at the Cambridge Union to conversations since, one thing has remained constant: Skinner’s authenticity. He has an instinctive ability to connect with people from all backgrounds and walks of life, and it is exactly that quality which has propelled his growing online popularity.

In an era when many feel uneasy about the country’s trajectory, Thomas voices what countless people think but are often reluctant to say. He speaks plainly, unapologetically, and from a place of genuine patriotism. These days, that alone is enough to invite vitriol from the self-styled “tolerant” left, who seem less inclined to debate ideas than to smear those who hold them.

His views are hardly radical: pride in London, support for working families, a belief in paying your way, confronting knife crime, and replacing ineffective political leadership. Yet following a barbecue with United States Vice President JD Vance, he has faced threats against his family and defamatory attacks dredging up old matters long since resolved.

The outcry over his forthcoming appearance on Strictly Come Dancing, with some even calling for the BBC to withdraw him, reveals something more troubling. Since when did holding pro-British views or advocating for hard work become grounds for exclusion from public life?

This intolerance is symptomatic of a broader malaise. With over a million more people signed off work since the arrival of the current Labour Government, the aversion to “graft” (as Thomas would put it) is eroding our national vitality.

As a 25-year-old, right-leaning, and in work since I was 16, I see a growing backlash against the constant denigration of Britain by those who claim to speak for progress. Figures like Thomas, proud, plain-speaking, and unwilling to apologise for loving their country, are taking the hits now, but in the long run they will win the argument.

We are tired of a system where asylum seekers enjoy hotel accommodation, weekly allowances, and free dental care while many native Britons struggle to access basic services they themselves fund.

Supporting one’s country, running a business, and raising a family ought to be the most uncontroversial of aspirations. Yet in our current climate they can invite ferocious condemnation from those who cannot abide differing viewpoints.

We need more people like Thomas Skinner, not fewer. People unafraid to say what is going wrong, and equally willing to celebrate what still makes Britain worth defending. When he steps onto that Strictly dance floor, I will take quiet satisfaction in knowing that every critic he angers only amplifies his cause and the cause of everyone who still takes pride in calling this country home.