Richard Madeley has been roasted on Twitter after referring to Africa as a country on Good Morning Britain.
The 65-year-old presenter had been speaking with former prime minister Gordon Brown about the possibility of redistributing surplus vaccines before they expire.
During the discussion, Madeley said: “It’s not just loading these boxes onto planes and flying them out to countries like Africa, we’ve got to have the infrastructure to be able to deliver the jabs."
Brown said they have also been working on delivering the infrastructure and explained that investments will be made in African countries so vaccines can be administered not just in cities, but in rural areas too.
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People took to Twitter to vent about the incident, with people once again drawing comparisons between Madeley and Alan Partridge.
Richard Madeley is presenting GMB again this morning. pic.twitter.com/fZYEWcnphl
— Col is Right (@Col_is_Right) September 20, 2021
Some said they are not sure if Madeley “belongs on TV in 2021” due to his abysmal grasp of basic geography:
"third world" 😞
— Claire Simpson (@clairelsimpson) September 20, 2021
"countries like Africa" 😫
Not sure Richard Madeley belongs on TV in 2021. #GMB
“Countries like Africa” #GMB pic.twitter.com/w3P2pQvZ3T
— Dollparts (@uniquedollsUK) September 20, 2021
RICHARD!!!! AFRICA IS NOT A COUNTRY!!! ITS A CONTINENT!"Countries like Africa" 🙄🙄🙄🙄#gmb #goodmorningbritain pic.twitter.com/vAgdu1KyaK
— Miss saHHara (@miss_sahhara) September 20, 2021
Jesus Christ. Richard Madeley just called Africa a country on #GMB. 🤦🏻♂️
— It’s Insense 🧠 (@ItsInsense) September 20, 2021
Richard Madeley thinks Africa is a country.
— Chris Middleton (@strategistmag) September 20, 2021
Others slammed the presenter as “unwatchable”:
I’m not sure who decides which co-anchors to air for @susannareid100 on @GMB but can it not be Richard Madeley? He’s unwatchable.
— Taureau (@7691Toro) September 20, 2021
Apart from having worse highlights than Match of The Day, what the f*ck is Richard Madeley doing on our television screens?
— Matthew Payne (@Matthew82069336) September 20, 2021
Is TV land that barren and devoid of talent that Richard Madeley is the only option for #GMB to have as presenter ???
— David Simpson (@DASimmo) September 20, 2021
Since stepping into Piers Morgan’s shoes, however some have praised Madeley for his work on the morning show:
@richardm56 it's such a delight to have you on the Gmb team! I love the respect you show to your colleague and how sensible and reasonable you are!
— Helen Batten (@helensb64) September 20, 2021
I love Richard Madeley ... he makes my morning when on GMB.#goodmorningbritain #RichardMadeley
— Debbie M (@DeborahDm1963) September 14, 2021
Love watching you Richard thats when the show is at its best! X
— maxine wager (@maxwager) September 20, 2021
I love Richard Madeley lol I love it when he tells a protestor they’re an absolute disgrace 🤣 gotta love a bit of @richardm56 #GMB #goodmorningbritain #goodmorning #HappyMonday
— Sarah Jane Palmer (@nurse_palmer) September 20, 2021
Although Twitter picked up on the gaffe, Brown didn’t mention it and continued talking about the importance of a global vaccine rollout.
Brown, the WHO Ambassador for Global Health Financing, has previously called on G7 countries to share unused vaccines with developing countries.
Otherwise, rich countries face binning 100 million expired Covid vaccines by Christmas if they aren’t redistributed across the globe.
While the UK hopefully steps up and shares out the surplus vaccines, we’re sure the roasting Madeley got on Twitter this morning is the inspiration he needed to brush up on his geography.
