Barry Humphries sadly passed away on April 22, 2023.
One of fans’ fondest memories of the latter years of his career is an hilarious moment on This Morning that saw him praise host Dermot O’Leary for “coming out”. Deliberately or not, Barry appeared to get Dermot mixed up with Phillip Schofield, prompting laughter to break out in the ITV studio in November 2021.
Dermot was left speechless, however, as Barry – best known for alter ego Dame Edna – hailed his “bravery”, despite it being Schofield who had come out a year earlier.
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Earlier in the show, Barry had boasted to Dermot’s co-presenter Alison Hammond about his “very good memory”. “Incidentally, I want to congratulate you, seriously, on your courage,” Barry began in his side-splitting exchange with Dermot, which immediately left Alison in stitches.
(Image: ITV)
He continued: “Last year… when he came out and told us about his sexuality… no, no, I think a lot of people respected you for that. Your bravery was amazing.” Eventually able to compose himself, Dermot quipped in response: “Thank you. I’ll pass that on to the gentleman who’s here from Monday to Thursday.”
(Image: ITV)
“What?” Barry asked, appearing to be confused. Dermot added: “Don’t worry. Your memory is… crystal clear. Thank you for your kind comments.” Barry then joked: “And by the way… we’re all in show business.” Closing the interview Dermot laughed: “Thank you for liberating me again!”
(Image: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)
Schofield opened up about his sexuality in a statement on social media in February 2020, which was subsequently followed up by a chat with Holly Willoughby live on This Morning. Later that year he was awarded the Spirit Prize at the British LGBT Awards, which saw him declare in his acceptance speech: “I had the most extraordinary people who helped me pack the parachute before I made the jump – friends and family, loved ones.
“And then there were an enormous amount of rainbow arms outstretched to catch me when I reached the bottom of my jump. And I’ve loved that, that’s something… I didn’t know quite what to expect, but what a lovely family I’ve thrown myself into. Thank you very much indeed.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
