Eamonn Holmes stayed up until the early hours of this morning after he accused Gogglebox producers of cruelly editing one scene on last night’s Celeb edition.
The Celebrity Gogglebox star said a scene in which he discussed his father’s tragic death had been cut out and replaced with an ill-timed joke.
At the time, Eamonn, 60, and his wife Ruth Langsford, also 60, were watching an episode of BBC’s Ambulance, which showed a young boy calling an ambulance for his father by the roadside.
Resulting in a number of outraged tweets from viewers, Eamonn appeared to make light of the heartbreaking scene.
In reality, the This Morning presenter claimed the scene reminded him of his own dad’s untimely passing, as he died suddenly during a car journey several years ago.
With Eamonn’s brothers Conor and Coln in the car at the time, his beloved dad Leonard fell ill at the wheel while he was driving home from a holiday in Ballycastle with his wife Josie.
Eamonn demanded an apology from Gogglebox’s production team (Image: Channel 4)
After the episode aired last night, Eamonn took to Twitter to criticise the Channel 4 producers, having received angry messages from viewers over his apparently light-hearted reaction to the ambulance scene.
He said: “In reply to a number of complaints …. I am hurt beyond belief that @C4Gogglebox chose not to use me talking about my Father dying from a Heart Attack at the side of a road and replace it with a funny story following a young lad giving his Father CPR. Idiotic and cruel edit.
“So following a tragedy that has forever haunted my family, I am in no mood for criticising holier than thou mouthpieces on here who haven’t gone through what we did. I had nothing but praise and emotion for the Ambulance control room TV programme. An atrocious edit @StudioLambert.”
Eamonn branded the Gogglebox edit as “idiotic and cruel” (Image: Channel 4)
He continued: “How my Father died was a particularly horrible experience for my Mother, my younger brother and his friend who were all in the car . The resuscitation in The BBC Ambulance programme was as close as could be to my Dad’s passing. Yet I am the one edited to make it look like a laugh.”
Later, he added: “Thank you everyone for seeing what happened tonight. Just awful that it did and that I have had to explain. Anyone who works in The Ambulance Service or who has experienced the impact of Sudden Death will understand. I now need to put my phone down. Goodnight.”
Unable to sleep after the incident, Eamonn spent the rest of the night replying to fans’ comments over Twitter, beginning at 3am and continuing until shortly before dawn.
Eamonn accused Gogglebox producers of cruelly editing one scene on last night’s Celeb edition (Image: EamonnHolmes /Twitter)
He retweeted a post from a men’s domestic abuse charity, which said: “We’re really sorry this happened to you and your family tonight Eamonn. The good you do and the love you share – try to feel it being radiated back to you. Some things, as you know, you can never get over This is a terrible thing that they did to you and your memories tonight.”
In response, he wrote: “This about sums up how I feel. And for the mob Trending on Twitter, I hope you are big enough, on knowing the true story, to delete your Hate or issue a correction.”
He then urged another fan to focus his attention on the 10-year-old boy who saved his father’s life, rather than on Eamonn’s own loss.
Eamonn has spoken about his father’s death on This Morning in the past (Image: ITV)
Michelle Heaton later reached out to Eamonn, consoling him after reading the emotional tweets, saying: “If anything was shown in a negative light, towards you @EamonnHolmes in any way shape or form, especially given that personal situation… those reading, I promise you won’t meet a nicer, more wonderful & sincere couple.. [love] u x.”
Eamonn thanked her for her kind words, saying: “Your support means a lot, Michelle. What should have been a lovely experience has been ruined.”
The Northern Irish star has opened up about his father’s death both in his autobiography and on television in the past, recalling the lasting impact it has made on his life.
Reflecting on his experience of suffering from panic attacks in 2018, he said: “I think looking back on it, it was a result of the sudden death of my father and not being able to say goodbye to him.
“I associated being away from home with bad things. It happened to me once on-air presenting BBC television.”
Daily Star Online has contacted Gogglebox’s representatives for comment.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
