This Morning came under fire from some viewers today over an I’m A Celebrity themed segment.
I’m A Celeb returns this weekend as 10 celebrities head into the Australian jungle to take on a series of dreaded Bushtucker trials. Ant and Dec will be back to host the series.
To mark the return of the ITV show, Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary hosted a segment today (November 15) as they took on a challenge.
This Morning today
The trial saw Alison, 49, and Dermot put their hands into mystery boxes to try and retrieve stars. One box contained toads while another had mice in it.
As Dermot put his hands into the box of toads, he let out a huge screech which resulted in Alison screaming too.
Show regular Sian Welby repeatedly told Dermot and Alison to “go steady” and be gentle. Dermot admitted: “That was horrific.”
Then it was Alison’s turn and she too screeched. She had mice in her box.
As they moved onto the next boxes, which contained snakes and bearded dragons, Dermot, 51, said: “We don’t want to scare the animals.”
Alison said: “Sorry!”
ITV under fire
However, the segment was met with criticism from some viewers. One person ranted on X: “Frustrated that yet again animals are being used as entertainment… so disappointing.”
Another wrote: “What is it with @itv and animal cruelty?”
Frustrated that yet again animals are being used as entertainment… so disappointing.
Someone else pointed out that the show had earlier aired a segment about a red panda who died after being scared by fireworks.
They wrote: “Not long after talking about a red panda being scared to death by noise, they’re screeching at frogs and mice..?”
Someone replied: “The hypocrisy is ridiculous.”
However, others seemed to enjoy watching the segment and especially Dermot’s scared reactions. One wrote: “After seeing that, Dermot would be great on #ImACeleb.”
Another commented: “That’s it, Dermot definitely needs to do the jungle. That was hilarious.”
ED! has contacted reps for ITV for comment.
Read more: This Morning host Alison Hammond’s random act of kindness praised during show’s phone-in
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX. I’m A Celebrity 2024 begins this Sunday (November 17) from 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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