"a thrilling piece of radio drama"

Radio It was a thrilling piece of radio drama and one which the listener really needed to experience as it was broadcast in order to gain the full effect. At a few minutes to eight this morning I was idling away at my computer attempting to gather back together all of the download This American Life podcasts that Spotify had very kindly thrown to the edges of my hard disk when the Gracenotes process in the new version had set about trying to relabel them as music files.

As ever my radio was tuned to Radio 4, to the Today programme and Diane Abbott MP, Labour back bencher and pundit on various Andrew Neil presented politics tv shows was being introduced to give her views in relation to her party’s leadership campaign.

Always attentive to criticism of the Labour party I turned half of my attention away from trying to find out the episode numbers for “The Inaugural Show” and “Numbers”. Within moments the rest of my attention joined it.

Naughtie was arguably giving her a fairly soft interview as befits someone who’s already a pundit at the BBC, and Abbot was offering an opinion I’d heard from her at the weekend of the all white middle-class shortlist and how little it seemed to recognise the diversity of the party and the wider country. Then Naughtie "fed" her the killer question: “So what are you going to do about it?”

At which point – well you can hear the interview now and I’d urge you to give it four minutes of your attention.

As you can hear, apparently unheralded and with little warning, Abbott announced her own candidacy of for Labour leadership. It’s missing from the clip, but on my digital radio, I’m sure I could hear an audible gulp from Naughtie as he realised the scoop has landed in his (and the programme's) lap.

He then offered a beautifully timed hesitation as the prepared lists of questions found itself in the circle shaped filing cabinet situated underneath the desk and he was being called upon to improvise.

We don’t know if there was indeed any advanced warning in the Today office of the announcement (though audible evidence is to the contrary). But audio evidence suggests that it was a shock to the presenters which means that Abbott had gone through the front door of the BBC, several researchers and sat down without saying a word and giving every impression that this would simply be some end of hour, pre-pips filling.

Her voice is clearly dry as she speaks. In her first answer she mistakenly suggests one of her rivals, John McDonnell has dropped from the race, a sign of nerves and one which had to be clarified later in the programme and permanently on the Radio 4 website.

"So many people have asked me to put my hat in the ring and I have finally agreed to do so" she says like someone who's been persuaded to put on another of her famous dinner parties.

During the interview, his co-presenter Evan Davis tweeted the news and Abbott’s name was trending on Twitter (aided it has to be said by the manic retweeting of a Diane Arbus quote in the US). Fall out coverage can be found on The Guardian’s page devoted to the politician, including a clearer statement of intent from the MP herself.

I don’t know anything about politics but I think that she may well have a chance and at the very least has shaken up the campaign. Should she be leader going into an election, depending on policy she could well act as a catalyst for disaffected soft Lib Dem voters annoyed by the coalition to swap allegiance to Labour in a way the Brownites and Blairites might not.

It says something about Naughtie’s professionalism that, after a high pitched "well", he drew the listener into the process of the interview ("two minutes ago there were five people running and now there are six" and "I'm just wondering what to ask you next") before apparently pulling those devised questions from the bin and modifying them for the change in circumstances.

He asks his interviewee about policy differences with the other candidates and whether this is a serious challenge and if she believes she has a chance at winning (plenty, yes, yes) before closing the interview (with some audible giggles from Abbot “and if any other Labour MP is listening and fancies doing something similar, you know where to find us. Thank you very much.”

On a day when we're all be urged to scrap our analogue radios in favour something digital, it's heartening to know that one of the original FM/LW/MW broadcasters still has the capacity to surprise and be surprised itself in the process.