Good Morning Britain's Richard Madeley has come under fire from ITV audiences after questioning whether the time had come to move past Prince Andrew's involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
Back at the Good Morning Britain desk this Monday, alongside Charlotte Hawkins, the veteran presenter, Richard Madeley, 68, engaged in conversation with Kwasi Kwarteng and Nells Abbey about Prince Andrew.
The spotlight turned to the royal as news broke that a picture capturing the Duke of York immediately after his calamitous 2019 Newsnight interview passed initial stages for National Gallery possession, spurring Richard's contentious query: "Is it time to lay off Prince Andrew?"
He continued by recounting the moment captured in the image where Andrew allegedly quipped post-interview: "Well, that went rather well, didn't it?" illustrating the Duke's oblivion to the impact the interview would have on his public standing, career, and reputation, reports the Mirror.
Viewers took to X, known also as Twitter, expressing their disagreement vehemently as soon as Richard broached the suggestion, exemplified by one enraged tweet: "Can't believe Madeley saying is it time to lay off Prince Andrew, cut him a bit of slack! ! ! ! No! ! Switched off!"
Another viewer expressed annoyance at Richard Madeley's opinion by commenting: "Richard Madeley is insufferable. 'We should be giving Prince Andrew a break'."
Further reactions included outright disagreement, such as: "Lay off Prince Andrew? Really? Nah."
and another TV spectator remarked on Madeley's stance: "Richard Madeley really is a jerk if he thinks that we should cut Prince Andrew some slack."
Amidst this, the conflict between Prince Andrew and King Charles III is still making headlines, with ongoing disputes over the Duke's residence at Royal Lodge.
The prince resides in a dilapidated 30-room Windsor mansion alongside his former wife Sarah Ferguson, where he shows no sign of wanting to give up his grand living situation.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV at 6am