Richard Madeley sparked a wave of complaints on Thursday (April 24) morning’s Good Morning Britain after he tucked into a bowl of roasted and minced crickets live on air.
The 68-year-old presenter co-hosted the show with Ranvir Singh. The duo took part in the segment highlighting insect-based foods, described by campaigners as the “food of the future”.
Richard Madeley eats insects on Good Morning Britain
The segment coincided with a conference at Nottingham University, where experts are promoting the environmental and health benefits of insect consumption. Crickets and ants are said to be rich in protein and micronutrients. They are also more sustainable than traditional livestock.
Before diving in, Richard compared the idea to eating prawns.
“My thinking on this is that if we didn’t eat prawns as a dish and suddenly someone said try eating prawns, most people would go: ‘Why would you want to eat that?'”
Then, without hesitation, he crunched into a roasted cricket and gave his verdict.
“The flavour is quite light, they’re sort of hollow,” he mused. “I’d say it tastes a little bit like a very mildly flavoured nut.”
With a smile, he added: “There’s no back taste. Nothing that makes you want to heave. In fact, I’d like a bit of salt on that.”
He did, however, issue a warning.
“If you have a shellfish allergy, then you shouldn’t eat this stuff because, organically, there are similarities.”
When he sampled the minced version, he appeared even more impressed.
“That is delicious,” Richard gushed, earning a giggle from co-host Ranvir.
Viewers react
However, not all viewers shared his enthusiasm.
One unimpressed Twitter user wrote bluntly: “Disgusting.”
“This kind of crap is the reason I no longer watch TV,” another complained. “Every now and again videos like this on Twitter remind me that the brainwashed are still getting brainwashed. Switch the propaganda machines off for good.”
“Sorry Rich! You’re on your own there son!!!” a third viewer joked.
Meanwhile, another took a firmer stance. “I’m not eating bugs. I don’t give a [bleep] how many people push it. It’s not happening.”
Despite the backlash, not everyone was against the idea.
“When visiting Cambodia a few years ago, I tried a curry that had fire ants in it,” one viewer reminisced. “It was delicious. And not obvious at all that it contained ants – they looked like pepper.”
While Richard’s taste test may have impressed him, it certainly left viewers divided.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV from 6am.
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