Eamonn Holmes has blasted Celebrity Gogglebox producers for an “idiotic and cruel” edit.
The TV presenter appeared on the new series of the Channel 4 show alongside his wife and This Morning co-presenter Ruth Langsford on Friday night, with the couple watching scenes from the BBC’s Ambulance.
Eamonn attracted some criticism online when – after watching a boy save his father’s life by calling 999 and resuscitating him following a suspected heart attack – he was seen telling a light-hearted story about getting Ruth to hospital when she went into labour.
However, Eamonn has since voiced his disappointment that bosses had actually replaced him talking about his father dying from a heart attack in similar circumstances with the anecdote.
He tweeted that he’d received “a number of complaints”, before going on to say: “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.”
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.”
After receiving an outpouring of support on Twitter, Eamonn later 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.”
A Gogglebox spokesperson later told HuffPost UK: “We have apologised to Eamonn over what happened in this week’s episode.
“We understand and respect Eamonn’s feelings on such a deeply personal story. We have taken the decision to edit the episode for future repeats and All 4.
“We look forward to working with Eamonn and Ruth for the rest of the series.”
Celebrity Gogglebox continues on Friday night at 9pm on Channel 4.
