Dancing with the stairs? Leo, actually, it’s not real

The frisson of excitement Leo experienced during his virgin visit to Britain’s most iconic political building gave him a “little thrill”.

Some might say it was Love, Actually.

He was finally behind that famous black door where Michael Collins signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty; where key decisions were made about the ending of an empire, and from where the British government directed two world wars.

Was it the weight of expectation that made him act like a nervous debutant? No, actually. It was sight of that famous staircase, made more famous by the dance moves of Hugh Grant, who starred as the British PM in hit rom-com, Love, Actually.

In a press conference with the actual British prime minister, Theresa May, Mr Varadkar said it was “my first time in this building, so there’s a little thrill in it”.

“We spoke on the way in and I was reminded of that famous scene in Love, Actually where Hugh Grant does his dance down the stairs.”

Mr Varadkar was quickly set straight — Leo, actually, a staircase double was used in the movie.

Across the Irish Sea, on the steps of another iconic building, Simon Coveney was caught up in a scene a little closer to LaLa Land as efforts continue to restore the Northern Assembly.