Series two of Celebrity Gogglebox has got off to a tricky start, with the show issuing an apology to Eamonn Holmes after he criticised their editing of him during Friday's episode.
Taking to Twitter to air his thoughts, the journalist and broadcaster pulled TV bosses up on their 'idiotic and cruel choice' to screen a clip of him making a joke following a heart-breaking scene from BBC series Ambulance.
In the telly-themed programme, Eamonn and his wife, fellow presenter Ruth Langsford, were shown watching a documentary about a 10-year-old boy who bravely resuscitated his dad back to life after he suffered a heart attack.
It transpired that, on watching the programme, Eamonn shared a devastating story about his own father dying from a heart attack at the side of the road.
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Strangely, show bosses chose not to include the story in the final edit, instead showing the presenter joking about getting Ruth to hospital "in the nick of time" when she went into labour with their son, Jack, in 2002.
The confusing editing prompted Twitter users to criticise Eamonn's apparently jovial response.
One harsh commentator wrote: "Only Eamonn Holmes can turn a child saving his own father into a story about how great he is for driving his wife to hospital."
Eamonn, who wrote that he was "hurt beyond belief" by the clumsy decision but has since accepted the apology issued by Gogglebox, acknowledging that it is "almost always a very entertaining programme".
The broadcaster's initial tweet 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."
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"Idiotic and cruel edit," he added.
The presenter went on to detail the trauma that his family had experienced when his father died of a heart attack - and how close a resemblance the experience bore to the footage shown in the Ambulance series.
"How my Father died was a particularly horrible experience for my Mother, my younger brother and his friend who were all in the car," tweeted Eamonn.
"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."
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Gogglebox producers issued an official apology to the understandably hurt and frustrated broadcaster.
In a statement shared on to the series official Twitter account, they wrote: "We have apologised to Eamonn over what happened in this week's episode. We understand and respect Eamnn's feelings on such a deeply personal story."
"We have taken the decision to edit the episode for future repeats and All4. We look forward to working with Eamonn and Ruth for the rest of the series."
Eamonn later reshared the statement and accepted Gogglebox's apology.
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Adding his own comment to the statement, he tweeted: "For those who judged me wrongly. I think it's important you read this. It was a bad edit and we move on with what should be a fun experience on what is almost always a very entertaining programme. Thank you C4Gogglebox."
Well done Eamonn for calling out a bad decision - and we're glad to hear Gogglebox will be editing the episode for reruns.
Featured Image Credit: Channel 4Topics: celebrity gogglebox, TV and Film, TV News, TV Entertainment, Channel 4
