Good Morning Britain's Richard Madeley stuns co-star with 'real' voice

Richard Madeley left his Good Morning Britain colleagues gobsmacked on Wednesday when he revealed his genuine accent. In a segment discussing whether Northerners are better at detecting fake accents, co-host Susanna Reid was taken aback: "So do you mean to tell me the voice you're speaking in right now is put on."

Richard hesitated before confessing: "My dad was a public schoolboy, and he lived in Essex. He came back from Canada. He was a journalist, and he hated the dropped vowel. I was expected to speak like this at home, and it was the natural way of speaking."

Yet, as Richard showcased his authentic accent, he elaborated: "But when I was at school at Rush Green, obviously if I spoke like that, I got beaten up, so I spoke like this."

"I am bilingual," he quipped, prompting laughter from his colleagues. "I am not putting it on; I am dropping into it, right? I am not acting it, right?"

He later clarified to guests Andrew Pierce and Kevin McGuire: "I am not putting it on because I'm from Essex, right, and that is how I used to talk," reports the Mirror.

Richard further explained his Romford upbringing before Kevin questioned: "Aren't Romford and Dagenham in London now?"

Richard firmly corrected him: "I'm sorry, but for us proud Essex people, it's always Essex."

The previous day on GMB, Richard had even walked out of the studio to check if it was snowing outside, prompting Susanna to jest: "Richard, are you reporting from the scene? " as he returned to his seat.

Richard animatedly reported: "It is absolutely tipping down with snow outside; it has just started about five minutes ago after you first spoke...nothing, and suddenly it has happened. We will show you the pictures in a minute, it is really heavy."

Susanna then advised her co-host: "Can I recommend that next time you go out with a coat."

In response, Richard quipped: "This is live television, Susanna, every minute counts, there was no time to put a coat on. I suffer for the news."

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.