Richard Madeley has surprised fans of Good Morning Britain by exposing his’real’ accent.
The presenter, 67, rose to fame after co-hosting This Morning with wife Judy Finnigan, 75, in 1988, but it turns out that the familiar voice we’ve all become accustomed to isn’t Richard’s native tongue after all.
Richard was born in Romford, Essex, and he displayed his native accent on Monday’s Good Morning Britain.
Following Sir Keir Starmer’s demand for a campaign for accurate grammar, Good Morning Britain wondered if it was beneficial to lose your accent in order to advance in your job.
‘I upgraded mine because my dad was a public school educated guy and at home in Romford, if I spoke like I spoke in the playground – honestly this is how I spoke – Dad would give me a clip around the ear and say, “don’t drop your Hs”.
‘So it was parental pressure,’ he said.
Who’d have guessed?
Richard was also chastised by Good Morning Britain viewers on the same broadcast after arguing with Chris Packham about the Just Stop Oil rallies.
Some felt the host treated Packham with ‘utter disrespect’ as they discussed the UK’s effectiveness in combating climate change.
It was concerning, though, that GMB immediately followed the conversation with a news broadcast about the dangerously hot weather in Sicily.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.