Viewers of the annual Boat Race on Sunday seemed to be less than impressed with one of the BBC’s commentators on Easter Sunday.
A number of Twitter users took to the site to criticise the broadcaster for choosing comedian Seann Walsh to give his take on the annual university meet on the River Thames.
Walsh, who is more commonly seen on programmes like Virtually Famous, Live at the Apollo and Mock the Week, accompanied Countryfile presenter Helen Skelton to talk to the crowds gathering to watch the race on Sunday.
It wasn’t just viewers that seemed to notice the comedian as an odd choice for the prestigious event with Walsh himself telling Skelton, “I think there’s been a booking error” and joking that perhaps there had been a mix-up between himself and Stephen Fry.
Overall, his inclusion in the coverage wasn’t met favourably on Twitter:
He was criticised in particular for an apparent attempt at innuendo when he asked Skelton if the female rowers, who have only taken part in the event since last year, also “have a cox”.
Skelton herself maybe caught on to the controversy after saying into the microphone: “Let’s stick to this activity where he cannot talk,” as Walsh tried his hand on a rowing machine. Later on in the show when stood on the Hammersmith bridge, she awkwardly appeared to cut him off after saying: “I’m concerned at where this might go so let’s turn our eyes to the river”, after he asked a young Cambridge student if his hoodie complete with logo was from JD Sports.
Despite the criticism, some did praise him for his middle-class targeted jokes when he told Skelton he’d never seen so many middle-class people and likened it to “Waitrose on Black Friday”.
The 30-year-old acknowledged one particularly critical comment over his “cox” joke with a sarcastic rebuttal, which suggests he’s not too fazed by the reception to his sporting commentary debut.
A spokesperson for the BBC declined to comment when contacted by the Independent.
