On This Morning today, agony Aunt Deidre Sanders has come under fire after some viewers found her advice less than supportive.
During Wednesday’s (January 31), Deidre returned to offer her advice to callers.
Caller ‘Susan’ was too upset to open up about her father’s recent cancer diagnosis, so presenter Rylan Clark read out her cry for help instead.
Deidre replied: “I can completely understand how freaked out you feel Susan, I mean, cancer is such a scary word.”
This Morning advice ruffles feathers today
Diedre continued: “People do talk about it a bit more matter of factly now. People used to almost not dare say the word. That builds up the fear and you’ve probably got that frightened child inside you still.
“You do not have to be strong for everybody else. The great thing is there’s some really good websites about prostate cancer. They specialise in information and support about prostate cancer so get in touch with them.”
Then came caller ‘Jane’ who explained that being made redundant aged 58 meant she’d lost her confidence. She said: “Where do you go at my age? It’s scary.”
Deirdre suggested some breathing techniques and said: “I absolutely understand how scary it is.”
But then, once again, she directed the caller in the direction of another website. The agony aunt added: “Because the government wants over-50s to go out to work, there’s really good help out there. It’s a website.”
Viewers react
Viewers were quick to react on X – formerly Twitter. One said: “And to think that Deidre got an MBE for telling people to go to a certain website rather than actually giving out sound advice.”
Another corroborated: “Utter madness isn’t it?!”
Meanwhile, a third chimed in: “Why phone this woman all she does is direct them to a website.”
Another complained: “Why phone this woman all she does is direct them to a website.”
Read more: This Morning viewers slam Rishi Sunak appearance as Rylan and Rochelle under fire
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.
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