Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis mocked by BBC viewers for ‘startling’ background portrait of himself

‘Theo Paphitis just invented the Reverse Dorian Grey’ quipped one viewer

Louis Chilton
Friday 15 January 2021 10:59 EST
Comments
Theo Paphitis interviewed on BBC Breakfast in front of a portrait of himself

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis is being sent up BBC viewers after being interviewed in front of a large portrait of his own head. 

The mogul was featured on BBC Breakfast to discuss the UK retail industry, which has suffered under lockdown restrictions during the pandemic. 

 “Physical shops are really looking over the precipice at the moment,” he said. “We’ve never experienced anything like this.

He continued: "People have changed their habits because it’s taken so long to get out of this pandemic. When things hopefully will go to normal but not everybody will go back to the way they were before."  

However, while he was speaking, many viewers were more fixated on the background of the interview, which was being conducted virtually. 

“Why does Theo Paphitis have a portrait of himself on the wall?” asked one viewer.

“I think have a winner for most startling Zoom background,” joked another.

“Theo Paphitis just invented the Reverse Dorian Grey”, another Twitter user quipped.

Someone else tagged the popular Twitter account “Accidental Partridge”, which shares instances when public figures behave in a manner befitting Steve Coogan’s gauche sitcom creation Alan Partridge.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in