Richard Madeley's drink spiking questions slammed as 'ridiculous' by Good Morning Britain fans

Richard Madeley has been accused of victim-blaming a Good Morning Britain guest whose drink was spiked after he asked her multiple pressing questions about the incident. 

The British TV presenter has come under fire following an interview with a young woman on Thursday’s episode of the ITV breakfast show for a segment on the UK’s spiking epidemic. 

Jemma Wolstenholme appeared alongside her mother, Karen, to discuss her experience of being spiked on a night out and raise awareness of this alarming crime. She unexpectedly found herself subject to a line of interrogation, however, when Richard interrupted her mid-speech. 

Recounting the incident to Richard and his co-host Susanna Reid, the young woman said, “I was lucky that I was with a good friend who noticed that I was in trouble. She just straight away put me in a taxi, no questions asked.” 

It was at this point that Richard interjected with a series of questions about what “precautions” Jemma had taken on the night. 

“Obviously you’re aware of the risk of drinks being spiked, had you been trying to protect your drink? Had you kept your hand over it? Had you kept it with you, do you remember that?” 

Jemma replied, “Yeah, well it’s sort of second nature now because we have been told for so long that we should be careful who is near our drinks. So if I did leave it, it was left with my friend and it was ‘watch my drink’.”

“And we were sat at a table and it wasn’t particularly busy where we were sat, so it’s still a bit of a mystery as to how it happened, but you see people finding opportunities wherever they can and all it would have taken was one tiny distraction.”

Susanna then jumped in to defend Jemma, emphasizing that “it’s not your responsibility to take the precautions, to stop someone who does maliciously put something in your drinks.” 

Good Morning Britain viewers were quick to condemn Richard's questions, criticizing him for pitting the blame on Jemma rather than the perpetrator. 

Richard's controversial questions come just a day after he was slammed for being patronizing to a female guest on Wednesday's episode of Good Morning Britain. During a discussion on the new Netflix drama, Squid Game, the English journalist cut parenting expert Jane Evans off with an abrupt, "Darling, just let me finish the question." 

If that wasn't bad enough, Richard was also blasted for his comments about Kate Middleton's weight on the show earlier this week. He made the inappropriate remarks after a report on the Earthshot Awards, muttering, "She's so slim, isn't she?" to Susanna. Viewers were quick to criticize him for focusing on her physical appearance, rather than the innovative technology at the environmental event.