To be sick of feckin Professor Brian Cox...

[Scrunchcake]

...and his "even I'm struggling" on that BBC advert. I know someone else will have scripted it but dear god, it's so patronising.

For anyone who hasn't heard it, it's basically him telling us he's a genius who studies space and whatnot, and even he is struggling with teaching his kids at home.

Why wouldn't he be finding it hard? As far as I know he's not a qualified primary teacher. Patronising git.

@Thewithesarehere

This is quite annoying, considering covid has shown a significant impact on women academics vs men.

But then isn't it good to show a very prominent male academic doing the homeschooling?

His wife used to be on Mumsnet when it was all fields around here ...

@PickAChew oh yes Dara O'Briain, he is one of my favorite stand-uppers .

Thing is, in my country the name Brian is very very erh hmm 'frowned' upon, so not a chance of using that name .

@HavelockVetinari

He's reassuring people struggling with home-schooling that no, they're not stupid - he's literally a genius and still finds it hard.

Loads of parents are finding it tough and are being really hard on themselves and feeling thick - I think the message is a really important one. Good for him!

This!

I always wonder if he has that same fixed fucking smile all the time- like sits on the toilet or performs CPR on somebody just smiling to himself. It drives me mad.

And I bet when you go in Brian Cox's house its just like TFI friday, a shrine to the 90s

Brian is wonderful, I’m going to marry him.

I can't stand him. He makes me savage. And my teeth itch.

DH’s cousin is an academic in the Chemistry department at Manchester university. He finds Brian Cox really annoying.

@SimonJT

Brian is wonderful, I’m going to marry him.

Totes.

@MinnieMountain

DH’s cousin is an academic in the Chemistry department at Manchester university. He finds Brian Cox really annoying.

Because Cox is telegenic and clever? I’m not surprise he’s annoyed. Ha

Last time I looked they werent teaching quantum physics in year 2 so I'd like to see him get to grips with the "number arrays" I mean wtaf

...not surprised

@MinnieMountain

DH’s cousin is an academic in the Chemistry department at Manchester university. He finds Brian Cox really annoying.

He's a chemistry academic, he's not the intended audience!

Brian Cox absolutely rocks. He’s an actual National Treasure.

He is a smug, complacent and self important- and that's whether in an advert or not!

Every time I hear this I think how horrendously patronising and badly scripted it is and he, or someone else, should've realised before they recorded it.

But he's great. He presents fascinating topics in an easy to understand way

I bet he's not doing the homeschooling anyway. It'll be his wife. He's much too busy being important.

He is a media tart.
His ‘Infinite Monkey Cage’ on R4 is all about, ‘get me! I’m a scientist but I’m cool’
W**er.
Academics don’t have to chase sleb status. They’re better than that.

@LivingMyBestLife2020

I like him. His voice is so soothing

His voice makes me want to slap him with a big kipper. God it's excruciating

I dislike this guy anyway

I always found him patronising and he has fishy lips. He's most unattractive

At this point I'm so tempted to claim I'm his DW and that my post was following a homeschooling-based row.

Anyway, maybe I'm being a bit harsh. Lots of people found the ad reassuring, which was obviously the idea.

My circumstances might be influencing my reaction to BC ever so slightly. I'm a qualified / experienced teacher (though been out of the classroom for a good few years) and I find home schooling nightmarish tbh. My DH is a science professor, and he wouldn't dream of saying to me not to worry I was finding it hard because "even he" would struggle.

If the advert was along the lines of "this is really hard, isn't it?" it wouldn't have irritated me half as much.