Richard Madeley asks if Putin is ‘unbalanced’
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Richard Madeley, 65, has presented Good Morning Britain since 2017, first as a stand-in for Piers Morgan before taking on a more permanent role following the former’s infamous walk-off. After accepting an indefinite position as a part-time host, Richard admits he “has to self-censor” when he is on-air to avoid saying something he shouldn’t.
The presenter, who has worked in TV for around four decades, explained in an exclusive chat with Express.co.uk: “On GMB, we have freedom of speech, unlike the BBC.
“On ITV we are allowed a lot of latitude in terms of giving your personal comment because we are not a state-funded broadcast.
“So, within reason, you can say what you personally think.”
However, Richard maintains that he has to “run things through his head” before he says them to “avoid legal issues” and not to “abuse his position”.
He continued: “You don’t want to abuse your position, as some presenters have done.
“So, you want to say something which is fair comment but reasonable. There’s a filter on all the time.
“And you know, I’ve never been sued for libel, and I think one complaint against Ofcom which wasn’t upheld, so I don’t think I’ve trodden on too many landmines.”
Richard recently came under fire for on-air comments regarding Keir Starmer.
During the episode in question, he said: “We learned yesterday that Keir Starmer says he’s getting death threats online – people calling for his execution.”
Journalist Andrew Pierce chimed in: “Well I think politicians get that all the time.”
And Richard remarked: “I was going to say, actually, is that that big a deal?”
His comments sparked fury in some users who took to Twitter to accuse him of “making light” of death threats.
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The following day, Richard addressed criticism live on GMB, insisting that death threats are “never acceptable” and that he “didn’t quite press” the question properly.
Richard, who previously presented This Morning for 15 years as well as a Channel 4 show with wife Judy Finnigan for seven years, states that he simply “doesn’t give a stuff” about backlash he receives.
He said: “Virtually any day I do GMB, you can go on Twitter an hour later and there will be some Twitter storm kicking off over something I’ve said or done.
“You have to decide whether it matters, whether it’s actually going to have any bearing on what you say or do the next day, or whether you will be offered another contract or if people will spit on you in the street.”
He accepts that “very, very occasionally” he will have made a genuine mistake or done something genuinely controversial, but overall, the backlash he receives “doesn’t have any effect at all”.
The journalist concluded: “By and large, these screaming headlines on Twitter just don’t have any impact at all.
“I’ve never had a contract withdrawn or altered. It doesn’t cross over into real life.
“I couldn’t give a stuff! I really genuinely couldn’t give a stuff because I know that it doesn’t matter.
“I’m still here and I’m still being asked to work, and nobody spits on me in the street. There is no impact in the real world.”
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV from 6am.
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