Pat labelled the night-mayor!

With the stereophonically grey image of a councillor, it’s hard to think that many would ever appear on Radio One.
Greg James hosted the show that Scarborough's "tough cookie" mayor Pat Marsburg appeared onGreg James hosted the show that Scarborough's "tough cookie" mayor Pat Marsburg appeared on
Greg James hosted the show that Scarborough's "tough cookie" mayor Pat Marsburg appeared on

But in front of millions of listeners, Scarborough’s mayor Pat Marsburg left a lasting impression on TV star Dermot O’Leary when she took to the airwaves as part of a segment on the station.

The former X-Factor host was left scratching his head over the councillor’s vague answers on a segment called ‘Where’s the Mayor’, in which both he and DJ Greg James had to guess which town’s chains Pat donned.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And Cllr Marsburg, hardened through her past career as a store detective, was branded a “tough cookie” by the pair following Wednesday’s show.

And O’Leary added; “She should have been a spy in the Second World War.

She was a guest on the drivetime show for a segment in which the stars ask a series of identities to a different mayor each week in order to try and guess where they hail from.

But the duo were bewildered by the baffling clues she offered up over her identity, with Pat, who lives in her Falsgrave ward, putting them off the scent by claiming it would take 20 minutes to drive to the sea - omitting that it’s the time it takes her on the bus.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The mayor’s perceived stubbornness has resulted in her being dubbed “the night-mayor” by fans of James’ afternoon show.

Cllr Marsburg said she hasn’t listened back to the segment yet, but said she took part with one intention - to stump them.

She received a phone call the night prior from the BBC, to quickly brief her over the questions she’s likely to face.

And she said her time in town hall proved vital when being grilled by the stars, adding: “When you don’t know what’s coming, it’s just like any council meeting.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“All I knew before hand was that the name of the segment was ‘Where’s the Mayor’, so I thought I’m going to try to outlast them.”

Outlast them she did, giving away as little as possible about the borough.

When asked if Scarborough was famous for any type of food, instead of bragging about it’s famous fish and chips, she instead boasted about how the borough had a variety of restaurants - including a Chinese.

She did offer a hint that Scarborough had a world famous playwright in Sir Alan Ayckbourn - but she was left tongue tied when asked to name one of his plays.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And the celebrities admitted that Cllr Marsburg was the “toughest mayor we have ever had”.

And Cllr Marsburg added: “I just hope that I didn’t do anything to shame anybody, and that I represented the borough well.”