Parish council video star Jackie Weaver says Captain Spock helped her fight off ‘bullies’ – as she eyes Strictly call up
THE star of a parish council Zoom meeting that descended into a yelling match says Captain Spock helps her fight off bullies - and admits she's eyeing a gig on Strictly.
Pandemonium broke out after Handforth Parish Council Chairman Brian Tolver told Clerk Jackie Weaver that she had “no authority" to take control of the meeting - with the clip since going viral.
The meeting descended into chaos as councillors traded insults, with Jackie Weaver ultimately kicking Mr Tolver out of the conference call.
The tumultuous meeting - which features one unseen councillor mumbling "f*** off" under their breath - has since been viewed more than four million times.
Now Jackie has exclusively told The Sun she'd do it all again - hours after admitting she wasn't sure if she had the authority to boot Mr Tolver off the conference.
“They were definitely trying to bully me. But I was standing up for what’s right and if asked I would happily chair another meeting tomorrow," the 62-year-old said.
And she joked she "would have got her hair done" if she had known it would be shared so widely.
She was also pressed over how to keep cool during a tough online meeting, joking Brits shouldn't wear their pyjamas on call.
I was shaking with fear and frustration after the call.
Jackie Weaver
She added: "For me, it's about being focused on what you are trying to achieve."
But Mr Tolver said he did not regret how he acted in the meeting.
He said Jackie - who hosted the Zoom call and removed him from it - was just present as a member of the public and "had no status to speak other than when invited".
"If you look at the first meeting you will see I have reason to be angry," he said.
In the first meeting that he was kicked out from, Mr Tolver claimed the agenda was "concealed" and, following a series of interjections and claims the meeting was not legitimate, he was eventually removed.
Mr Tolver refused to recognise the legitimacy of both meetings.
'Acting like children'
The chaotic parish council meeting lauded as "comedy gold
Janet Taylor, 60, said she felt "embarrassed to be a resident' of the Cheshire village of Handforth after the meeting descended into a foul-mouthed, hour-long shouting match.
Janet said that in over six years of attending local parish council meetings she had never seen anything as "appalling" as she saw in the meeting which was held on Dec 10 last year.
Janet, who has lived in Handforth near Wilmslow, Cheshire, her entire life, said if any professional had acted in a similar manner "they would have been sacked".
She said she's still incredulous the councillors would "act like children" instead of working for the good of the town.
Janet said: "In six years that's the worst meeting I've ever been to. It's a disgrace.
"I was incredulous that someone could act like that in a meeting. If it was a normal meeting they would have been sacked.
"It's just appalling behaviour, I'm embarrassed to be a resident of Handforth. I didn't expect it to go viral but I can understand.
"It's just unfortunate that they can't work together for the good of Handforth instead of their ego.
"I just find it hard to believe they acted the way they did.
"It's an awful state of affairs but when you watch it they act like children."
And during the now viral meeting, he lashed out at the clerk, telling her "you have no authority here Jackie Weaver, no authority at all" before being booted out in scenes compared to The Thick of It.
Another two councillors were then removed from the call despite one person yelling "read the standing orders".
Mr Tolver said: "I cannot think of any other council meeting anywhere, that was taken over by an unqualified member of the public like this.
"Removing half the councillors from the meeting, denied half of the voters of the village from being represented - it was an appalling attack on their democratic rights.
"This made tensions rise, and that is why voices were raised in the second meeting.
"In the second meeting, I was trying to explain the correct procedure to this lady and say that her actions were way out of order, but she seems to have believed that she could do whatever she chose.";
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Since the video went viral, has put Jackie at 14/1 odds to make it on to I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.
The videos were posted on Twitter with the caption: “I’ve never missed in person meetings more than i did watching this parish council meeting descend into chaos.”