Lorraine Kelly hit with hundreds of Ofcom complaints after 'body-shaming' swipe
Ofcom has been hit by hundreds of audience complaints about the ITV chatshow Lorraine after the Scottish presenter took an on-air swipe at Nigel Farage last week.
The UK broadcasting regulator, which investigates content viewers or listeners report as offensive, have released its list of shows that have received over 50 complaints over the past week. In the chronologically ordered rundown, Lorraine's episode on 21 November garnered 354 complaints. The blow comes a few days after Lorraine passed a savage remark about Nigel Farage while discussing I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! on her beloved daytime show. Interviewing Edwina Currie about her own experience on the gritty ITV reality series, the 63-year-old caused outrage after seemingly insulting the former UKIP leader's appearance.
“I think he’s in there because he thinks he can enhance his reputation," Currie said. "He’s seen as a responsible, intelligent and worthy person of some kind or other. He’s only, what 59? He’s got plenty ahead of him if he wants to get going again."
Lorraine gasped in response to this, stunned by the revelation of Farage's real age. "Is he?! Is he only 59? I thought he was a hell of a lot older than that," she admitted. "That’s astonishing, that just shows you get the face you deserve! You really do." She also said she was "traumatised" after seeing Farage's nude backside. It didn't take long for people to condemn Lorraine's comment, with many taking to Twitter to demand she retracts her words.
Lorraine made a savage remark about Nigel Farage on her ITV talk show last week (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Nigel Farage's team have demanded Lorraine apologizes for the comments (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)"Why hasn’t Lorraine Kelly apologised for body shaming Nigel Farage yet? Imagine if he made those comments about her on live TV… The media would cancel him!" one person raged, while another said: "I thought what Lorraine said about Nigel Farage body shaming him on live tv was unprofessional and insultingly mean and derogatory. I’m sure if a male presenter had said that about a female in the same situation then he would have been fired…"
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GB News presenter Mike Parry also expressed his disapproval of the comment during a panel discussion on News of the Week, calling it "very unfair" and "very unlike Lorraine Kelly."
"If a male broadcaster had said that about a female celebrity, that would be the end of his career. I'm certain of it," the 68-year-old argued, before noting that Farage's spokesperson had now demanded an apology from Lorraine.
Ofcom has not said if it will be investgiating Lorraine, explaining that "inclusion or omission of a programme on this list is not indicative that Ofcom is investigating the broadcast." The number of complaints received is not an indication of how serious an issue. The show to receive the most complaints last week was I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, attracting 907 on 21 November and 898 on 22 November.
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