Presenter Vanessa Feltz has apologised live on air after her comments about coeliac disease on This Morning ruffled feathers.
On Monday Vanessa appeared on the ITV morning show and said she thought it was “completely unreasonable” for a caller to be asked to eat a gluten-free meal at her mother-in-law’s on Christmas Day to accommodate one coeliac guest.
Now, the presenter has issued a formal apology of sorts.
Vanessa said on Talk TV: “You may well have seen my name mentioned on social media in the last day because of comments I made about coeliac disease during a segment on This Morning.”
Vanessa Feltz: “I’m horrified that anyone’s upset”
The presenter invited coeliac Jason and an emergency medical doctor to join her for the chat on Tuesday, December 19.
She explained: “I did not, nor would I for second, suggest that they should put the coeliac guest at risk in any way. Nor did I suggest that they bring their own food and shove it in their mother-in-law’s oven. I wouldn’t dream of that.
“And nor did I intend in any shape or form to show any disrespect or misunderstanding of how unpleasant it can be, leading your life as a coeliac. Partly because some of my best friends are coeliacs. And I spend a lot of time in Ireland where a huge proportion of the population are coeliacs. So I know how horrible it is as a coeliac.”
Vanessa then said that she was “astounded by the reaction” and “horrified that anyone’s upset”.
She added: “I wouldn’t want to upset anyone. I don’t actually think I said anything that was wrong. But if anyone misunderstood or felt that I did, then I’m very sorry.”
View this post on Instagram
What happened on This Morning
So just what did Vanessa say during the This Morning segment? A caller named ‘Alison’ revealed that her mother-in-law was insisting that everyone should be gluten-free on Christmas Day to accommodate one gluten-free guest, meaning the caller’s entire family would be banned from eating any gluten.
Vanessa said: “She’s treating coeliac disease as if it’s a kind of potentially fatal peanut allergy and that they can’t have anything with gluten in the house, which is completely unreasonable. That is not reasonable Alison, at all.”
Vanessa then suggested that the caller explain that the gluten-free guest could eat their meal while the rest of the family enjoyed their own gluten-filled lunch. She added: “It’s not catching.”
The segment garnered lots of complaints. A leading charity called for Vanessa to make a formal apology and the next day, This Morning’s Dr Zoe explained what coeliac disease is to viewers.
She said: “Coeliac disease is actually an autoimmune condition, it’s not an allergy, it’s autoimmune. So that’s where your own body’s immune system is causing the problem and it’s a reaction to gluten. And some people with coeliac disease can have a very sensitive reaction, so even just the smallest little trace of gluten can actually damage in the long term their small intestine and cause really severe sickness and illness.
“So I think especially around Christmas time, for some people, it can be a time where they really do need to ask their relatives and loved ones who they’re going to be spending time with to make a few changes to accommodate them so they don’t get sick.”
Host Craig Doyle replied: “I didn’t know how serious it could actually be.”
Read more: Vanessa Feltz’s ex-fiancé Ben Ofoedu ‘moves on’ with rumoured new fling Precious Muir.
What do you make of Vanessa’s apology? Head over to our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix to share your thoughts on this story.