Behind a glass partition at a BBC studio in Belfast, staff whisper about a feisty on-air exchange earlier that day.
“There was a bit of a ding-dong,” a producer says.
On the other side of the glass, former Ireland rugby star Andrew Trimble is asked during a podcast how he feels about a Border poll (“anxious enough”, he says) and his Irishness (he’s “very proud”).
There is no tension in the room.
“It does feel like a bit of a palate cleanser, this episode,” someone is overheard remarking, comparing it to the clash with a loyalist blogger in a previous recording.
The Trimble interview features in a new podcast series, Borderland – UK or United Ireland? It’s the first time BBC Northern Ireland has tackled the unity debate in this way and the broadcaster describes the show as landmark.
Former Sinn Féin MP Michelle Gildernew and former DUP MP Ian Paisley with presenter Chris Buckler an
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