They’ve been away from the show for 18 years - and today Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan managed to anger viewers within minutes of their return to This Morning .
The presenting couple stood in place of Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford for a special one-off episode of the ITV daytime programme.
Kicking off the show with a chat to Paul O’Grady about his dog adoption series For The Love Of Dogs, the interview took a bit of a dark turn as the subject got onto animal cruelty.
And for once it was a comment by Judy, not Richard, that got the backs up of fans watching at home.
She said: “I’m treading on shaky ground here but I can’t imagine many women are cruel to animals.”
Paul was quick to correct the 71-year-old, telling her: “You’d be surprised.”
The comic swiftly brought the conversation back to why people would put their pets up for adoption.
He said: “Things have changed, people can’t pay the mortgage, they lose their home, they go into rented accommodation, the landlord won’t let them have a dog.”
Viewers were fuming and branded Judy’s comment as ‘sexist’ and ‘outdated’.
One raged: “The fact Judy just said 'I can’t imagine any woman would be cruel to an animal' just shows that Richard & Judy should have stayed back in the 1980s where they belong.”
A second ranted: “It’s official, according to Judy women wouldn’t be cruel to animals...men are dog beating b**tards!”
A third posted: “5 mins in and Judy already acting dumb. Plenty of women have been caught abusing dogs. Sexism?”
“Judy assuming all animal abusers are male,” said another.
Another fumed: “Richard and Judy on #ThisMorning is painful viewing. Only in first segment & Judy’s already told Paul O’Grady that.
“‘I can’t imagine many women abuse animals’ as opposed to men.
“What absolute trash.”
This Morning airs weekdays from 10.30am on ITV.
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