Theresa Coffey’s phone interrupts a live interview with Dr Dre

One of Theresa CoffeyThe first interviews with the new health minister were interrupted by her mobile phone alarm going off live this morning – it was playing a Dr Dre song.

Ms Coffey and LBC presenter Nick Ferrari laughed as the alarm went off at 8am to 1999 hit Still DRE, which also featured Snoop Dogg.

Mr Ferrari began by asking her “a question about your residences” but stopped when he realized Ms Coffey’s phone was ringing and asked: “Are you OK?”

The Minister of Health said that listeners ‘get a bit of Dr. Dreja’, quickly apologized and said ‘sorry, I’ll just turn it off’ – but she and Mr Ferrari saw the funny side.

The breakfast host added: ‘It’s Dr Dre, isn’t it? This is fantastic. Well, Dr. Coffey with Dr. It keeps getting better and better for Dre as Minister of Health.”

Despite being over 20 years old, Still DRE is still a popular rap song and was recently featured at halftime of Super Bowl LVI in February.

The video for the song, which reached number 6 in the UK charts and appeared on Dr Dre’s second studio album ‘2001’, has amassed over a billion views.

During today’s interview on LBC – when he’s not talking about Dr. Dre – Ms Coffey admitted the NHS needed urgent improvements and said she hoped doctors would “continue to put their patients first” when asked about possible strikes.

She said: “I’m also very aware that we need to improve and we need to do them quickly.”

Asked how she would prevent a strike by junior doctors, Ms Coffey said: “Of course I hope people will continue to put their patients first.”

She added: ‘I think people will get a significant package that has already been agreed through an independent pay review body. We have accepted this recommendation. More broadly, the government invested in cost-of-living payments.’

Ms Coffey takes over as Health Secretary from Steve Barclay, who is moving to the backbench after a short stint in the role following the resignation of Sajid Javid in June this year. Mr Javid replaced Matt Hancock after he resigned over a breach of pandemic rules.

Ms Coffey, who is considered Liz Truss’s closest friend in Westminster, has been given a central role in the new Prime Minister’s administration.

As well as being appointed Minister for Health and Social Care, Ms Coffey will become Ms Truss’s deputy as Deputy Prime Minister.

The 50-year-old former Work and Pensions Secretary was expected to be rewarded with a key Cabinet job, having early backed Ms Truss’s Tory candidacy.

The pair’s alliance is said to date back to their post-university political days and was cemented when they were both elected as MPs in 2010 in nearby neighboring constituencies in the East of England.

Apart from the geographical proximity, Ms Coffey’s coastal part of Suffolk almost adjoins Ms Truss’s seat in south-west Norfolk, they share a state education, as well as studying at Oxford, albeit a few years apart.

Another thing they share is their love of karaoke, with Mrs Coffey known to host Westminster sing-alongs for MPs and staff.

She faced criticism when a video surfaced of her and Social Care Minister Will Quince singing (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life at a Conservative Party conference in 2021.

Labor described the timing of the move as it cut the £20-a-week Universal Credit rise an “insult and disgrace”.

She has also drawn criticism for defending Boris Johnson in media circles, including denying his allegation that he harassed Chris Pincher before he was appointed deputy chief minister.

Aside from appearing on shows and leading vocals at karaoke parties, Ms. Coffey is said to be a private person.

As well as being a music and football fan – she is a Liverpool supporter – Ms Coffey is said to enjoy a cigar.

Born in Lancashire in 1971, Mrs Coffey went to school in Liverpool before going to Oxford and then University College London to do a PhD in chemistry.

Before entering politics, she worked in finance for confectionery giant Mars and on the corporate side of the BBC.

She made two unsuccessful attempts to enter the European Parliament before securing the safe Tory seat of Suffolk Coastal in 2010.

A Catholic, Coffey voted against same-sex marriage and expanding abortion rights in Northern Ireland.

She got her first government role in 2012, holding various posts including junior minister in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Becoming Deputy Prime Minister is a significant promotion for Ms Coffey, who only joined the Cabinet when Mr Johnson appointed her Work and Pensions Secretary in September 2019.

At the time, she celebrated the moment by tweeting a photo of herself and Mrs Truss, saying: “Delighted to attend my first cabinet meeting at number 10 with my colleague @trussliz showing me the ropes”.

The new prime minister is apparently confident that her longtime ally, with her reputation for a strong work ethic and attention to detail, will be able to resolve the matter and help her steer the Downing Street ship through troubled waters.

Ms Coffey’s main duty is to stand in for Dominic Raab as Deputy Prime Minister, sit in on Prime Minister’s Questions and chair the Cabinet if Ms Truss is away.

As Health Secretary, she will face the challenge of sorting out the plan for the NHS without the provision of additional funding from the soon-to-be-abandoned National Insurance increase.