In a spectacular twist of fate that would make even the sturdiest of politicians duck for cover, Plymouth City Council leader Tudor Evans OBE found himself with an unexpected home renovation project this Sunday.
With less than two months until Plymouth's Mayoral Referendum, Cllr Evans has apparently decided to start demolishing things early – beginning with his own kitchen ceiling.
The council leader broke the news early on Sunday evening via his X account (formerly Twitter, back when politicians could post without their homes falling apart).
"We were going to have a lovely day celebrating Jane's birthday but this happened instead," Cllr Evans reported, referring to his wife Jane, whose special day was quite literally crashed by an unexpected collapse. The accompanying photo showed his kitchen looking less "Grand Designs" and more "DIY SOS."
We were going to have a lovely day celebrating Jane's birthday but this happened instead. Yup, that is some of our kitchen ceiling. pic.twitter.com/8GyjSBYqOp
— Tudor Evans (@CouncillorTudor) May 18, 2025
Plasterboard and rubble covered his charcoal grey worktop, while his honey-coloured kitchen cupboards miraculously survived – clearly made of sterner stuff than Plymouth's infrastructure budget.
While Cllr Evans kept quiet on what caused his ceiling's dramatic resignation, every British homeowner worth their damp-proof course suspects water damage.
It's the perfect metaphor for local politics: everything looks fine until it suddenly isn't, and someone's left cleaning up the mess while their dinner gets cold.
Did the Cllr Evans household salvage Jane's birthday celebration? The councilman has remained mum. Our best guess? They relocated to the garden for an impromptu "al fresco tea" or perhaps they went out for fish & chips on the Barbican and swilled rum with pirates.
Though Cllr Evans hasn't asked for help (typical politician, refusing to admit when they need assistance), we reckon a good plasterer should be top of his contact list.
This home emergency might actually improve his understanding of Plymouth's housing issues – nothing builds empathy quite like fishing bits of your own ceiling out of the Sunday roast!
Remember, voters of Plymouth: when the ceiling collapses at Council House on Armada Way, at least Tudor can swap disaster stories with the maintenance team. Now that's what we call "hands-on leadership"!
In the meantime, can you recommend a good plasterer?
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