Harry Hill’s controversies – race row, banned segment and Piers Morgan spat

Comedian Harry Hill has ruffled feathers on more than one occasion.

The comedian, who turns 60 today (October 1) is best known for hosting You’ve Been Framed and Harry Hill’s TV Burp. TV Burp ended on April 7 2012 after a whopping 10 years and 11 seasons on screen.

Since the series ended, Harry has continued touring thanks to his career in comedy and still remains a popular and sought after comedian. He’s preparing for his 2025 tour titled New Bits and greatest Hits after some time away from the spotlight.

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However, the comedy world often breeds controversy – and Harry is one of many to have found himself in moments which left viewers less than impressed. From a segment which was banned after receiving Ofcom complaints to shoving a pie in Piers Morgan’s face, Harry has come under fire many times.

Daily Star has looked at Harry’s more controversial moments.

Race Row

Harry Hill came under fire in 2018 after hosting a comedy night with comedians putting on various musical numbers. The likes of Matt Lucas, Sean Lock and Joe Lycett were all listed to be taking part in the event put forward by the famous comedian – but some fans couldn’t help but notice there was a severe lack of diversity.

A jibe soon came from black comedian Lolly Adefope who wrote: “Someone’s dreaming of a white Christmas.” She followed the tweet up by saying she didn’t want to disparage the charity, but wanted to start a conversation, adding: “Good intentions shouldn’t close you off to conversation.”

A response was issued on behalf of Harry which stated: “Harry asked a diverse range of comedians if they were available, with conversations with others still ongoing, and the lineup reflects who could perform on the day at the time of the event going on sale.”

He also apologised for any offence caused by the line-up and the team were looking “how best to address” the issue.

Ofcom ban

Years after airing in 2008, an episode of Harry Hill’s TV Burp on the channel Dave was banned by Ofcom and would never be broadcast again. UKTV agreed to remove the sketch in question, which was a “satire” skit regarding Channel 4 documentary The Pregnant Man which followed transgender man Thomas Beatie.

Ofcom ruled in 2016 that it was “considered that this was likely to be highly offensive to the transgender community, and to the viewers in general”. The episode was re-run on Dave and received complaints about how it appeared insensitive today.

Piers Morgan pie

Harry Hill once chucked a pie directly in Piers Morgan’s face in defence of Daniel Craig. It comes after the star wore his baby in a papoose, something which Piers branded “emasculating” – but Harry was having none of it.

Harry appeared on GMB to promote his upcoming tour and decided to spontaneously rub a pie in Piers’ face and declared “this pie is for all those men that wear papooses.” Piers went on to throw a pie at Susanna Reid and tried to get revenge on Hill.

Hill was immediately praised on X for his cheeky act. One user declared it had “made [their] morning,” and another said: “I’ve wanted to do that for years”. Piers however seemed a bit frustrated with the comedian.

EastEnders row

Harry admitted he has also been in trouble with the team at EastEnders due to one of his segments of “silly” moments on TV. He would regularly comment on funny dialogue or acting from the big shows – and EastEnders was one that left the cast really frustrated.

Hill once claimed: “After the first episode of series two went out, I had EastEnders executive producer Mal Young shouting down the phone: ‘This is outrageous. I’ve got actors here in tears because of what you’re doing!'”

He also said he was heckled by members of the cast at events as he continued to play the clips on his show.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk