He’s known as one of the most popular guys in showbusiness, but Peter Andre is in danger of tarnishing that reputation after comments he made about the state of childcare in the UK.
Referring to a survey in which it was suggested that one in five nurseries would not offer the government’s proposed 30 hours of free childcare each week, the 44-year-old wrote in his column for New magazine: “I absolutely do not agree with this! What about the thousands of parents out there who need and depend on it?”
“If the government is offering it, every nursery should honour it.”
However, while his heart was obviously in the right place, his comments have received a backlash on Twitter after nursery workers claimed that the pledge was impossible without better funding.
One angry user tweeted: “Did you do any research before writing your comments about the 30 hours nursery places??”
Read more: Peter Andre defends video of 11-year-old Junior at the gym
Another chipped in with: “Oh you’ve angered so many people with your views and comments on the 30 hours ‘free’ funding in child care…”
Andre did his best to fan the flames by tweeting: “Well if that’s the case them [sic] hopefully the government will start paying attention and fund more.
“I based my opinions on the facts I was given and I wasn’t told that the governments funding is low so hopefully this new attention drawn to it can make some difference.”
The Australian born singer and reality star has four kids of his own – two with his first wife Katie Price, and two with medical student Emily MacDonagh, 27, with whom he tied the knot last year.
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It’s clear from his social-media activity that he’s a doting dad to all of them. But that’s not to say he gets it right every time.
Earlier this month, he was forced to defend himself after critics panned him for posting a video of 11-year-old Junior working out in the gym.