Linda Robson has apologised to the town of Stoke-on-Trent, after a comment she made on ‘Loose Women’ wound up sparking a complaint to Ofcom.
Earlier this week, the panellists on the ITV show were discussing the news involving Nicole Bailey, the woman who was smacked with a criminal record after picking £20 up off the floor of a shop.
When the shop in question was shown on screen, Linda wound up facing a backlash when she remarked that it looked “poor”, adding: “It’s not Waitrose or Marks and Spencer.
“It looks like they don’t have a lot of money, the people who shop in there.”
Her comments rubbed some viewers up the wrong way, including local resident Kirsty Bailey, who has now complained to Ofcom.
She complained to the Stoke Sentinel: “I just thought it was pretty disgusting to be honest. She knows nothing about the area. I felt she was speaking ill of the working class and the people of Blurton in general. With all the bad press the city has had — this is just another blow.”
Responding to the controversy, and Ofcom complaint, Linda has now issued an apology.
She insisted to the Daily Star: “I’m really, really sorry if i’ve upset anybody.
Last year, ‘Loose Women’ was the subject of Ofcom complaints on more than one occasion, most memorably when Katie Price’s teenage son, Harvey, dropped the C-bomb live on air.
Katie was also at the centre of complaints when she got a bit overzealous in describing her sex life during one infamous discussion, while some viewers voiced their disdain when the show ran a discussion about whether the presenters would be comfortable dating a bisexual man.
‘Loose Women’ airs every weekday on ITV at 12.30pm.