Alison Hammond has apologised over comments she made on This Morning about whether people should be allowed to sing along at the theatre.
The ITV daytime presenter and regular This Morning guest Vanessa Feltz came under fire after a segment on the show last week discussing the banning of singing at the Manchester production of The Bodyguard musical.
Alison said that she “couldn’t believe it” and would “not even going to go to that show now”, while Vanessa questioned whether singing along “isn’t the whole point of going to a musical”.
After various musical theatre performers called out the comments online, Alison issued a statement on her social media accounts apologising for her remarks.
“After reflection and the comments I made on Wednesday’s show I want to apologise to anyone who I offended, especially the incredibly talented theatre performers, who I have the utmost respect for.
“I had no idea the level of disruption audiences were causing and tried to make light of the topic on Wednesday’s show, and for that I’m truly sorry.
“I’m a great supporter of theatre and the arts and would never sing at the top of my lungs at any performance, I was wrong in what I said and I’ve given this a lot of thought over the past few days and believe I was wrong.
“On Thursday evening, I attended a performance of the GBBO, the musical which I absolutely loved and gave a standing ovation, theatre is a magical experience for me and my family.
“I want to use my platform for good as always and want to stand up with the performers, front of house and theatre staff especially after seeing what happened at The Bodyguard in Manchester which has made me sick to my stomach.
“Once again. I’m truly sorry, but trust me, I will do better in the future. Alison x.”
Alison was supported by a host of famous names on social media after sending the post.
Alison’s co-host Dermot O’Leary also issued a statement, calling out some of the media reporting of his contribution to the This Morning segment, insisting he was “actually arguing against people singing too loudly in theatres”, asking if he could “politely urge anyone passing judgement on the clip to watch the whole interview”.
“Nothing but love and respect for those treading the boards,” he added.
This Morning previously had no comment to make when contacted by HuffPost UK.
The Palace Theatre in Manchester has been using staff to carry signs asking the audience to ‘refrain from singing’ during disruption to performances in recent weeks.
On Friday evening, two audience members were thrown out of the theatre for singing loudly along to I Will Always Love You, which caused the production of The Bodyguard to be cut short.
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV1.