Lauren Laverne has been flooded with support after being the subject of a takedown article over her role on Radio 4′s Desert Island Discs.
A piece in The Spectator titled ‘Desert Island Discs has completely lost the plot’ claimed that Lauren was not the best person to be fronting the long-running programme.
Writer Kate Chisholm called the presenter “lightweight and uncerebral”, claiming the show had become “more politically correct” during her tenure.
“Her capacity to come up with the forgettable phrase is quite something,” Chisholm added.
Fans of the programme quickly rushed to the defence of Lauren, who began hosting when Kirsty Young took a leave of absence in 2017 due to her on-going battle with fibromyalgia - a chronic condition which causes pain all over the body.
After seeing many of the messages on Twitter, Lauren said she “couldn’t be happier”.
She tweeted: “Today has been an entirely unexpected inventory of who is in my corner. I have to say I couldn’t be happier. In fact it’s been the best day in ages. Isn’t it funny how it goes that way sometimes?
“Thanks very much to everyone who has been so kind.”
She continued: “My kids have chosen this weekend’s activity, so - in this weather - we are at a theme park. Just came back to check Twitter while watching the bags as they scream their heads off on a rollercoaster. The wave of messages is as surreal as it is wonderful.
“As a seasoned festival goer I’ve had many surreal experiences while wearing a kagoule but this is a new PB. Thank you all so much for your kind words. I hope to live up to them,” she added.
Kirsty announced she would not be returning to Desert Island Discs last month, after 12 years at the helm.
In a statement, she said that while she’s “well on the way to feeling much better”, her time off “altered her perspective on what she should do next”.
It was subsequently confirmed Lauren would continue to host the interview series “for the foreseeable future”, although the Spectator piece claimed that Radio 4 controller Mohit Bakaya “is apparently looking for someone other than Lauren to front the programme”.
During her tenure, Kirsty hosted 496 episodes of Desert Island Discs, with guests as wide-ranging as Sir David Attenborough, Dame Judi Dench, Tom Hanks and Kylie Minogue.
Desert Island Discs celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2017, marking the occasion with a special interview with David Beckham.