Richard, Judy, Holly, Phillip, Eamon, Ruth…Sarah Ferguson? It was an interesting choice of guest presenter and one that will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. This Morning has had a terrible year, one they will undoubtedly wish they could forget. Sex scandals, murder plots, allegations of bullying and a toxic work environment. So why not try and distract everyone by getting in an ex-royal with links to a dead paedophile. In a sense it worked. Her appearance was certainly distracting.
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Sarah Ferguson is not known for being an experienced television presenter, much less so live TV. However, even she must have thought she’d be able to do a better job as it seems to be a career move she'd like to pursue. The ex-wife of Prince Andrew is clearly used to the finer things in life however she seemed utterly bemused by the most normal of things. It appeared she had never seen someone cooking spaghetti carbonara before, let alone done it herself. As to whether she’s ever actually watched an episode of This Morning - safe to say that’s highly questionable.
Questions on the royal family
If there’s one thing she could have been expecting it’s that they were going to ask her questions about the royal family. But even this seemed to throw her. When asked about King Charles she garbled ‘They’re very nice. Both of them. Such nice people.’ This is despite the fact that things have been tense between Charles and Andrew since the links to Jeffrey Epstein came out and since becomingKing he has asked parliament to reinstate Prince Edward and Princess Anne as Counsellors of State which many see as an affront to Prince Andrew. However, no doubt she’s just trying to smooth the waters as Ferguson recently offered to help Prince Andrew with the £2 million renovations on his house, Royal Lodge.
When asked what Christmas dinners were like with the royal family she got herself in such a tangle Gyles Brandreth had to step in and rescue her. That wasn’t the only time she lost herself. The autocue was certainly not her friend. Being thrown when sentences finished earlier than she was expecting and just leaving a stunned pause, jumping in a sentence early and talking all over Dermot O’Leary, getting confused between commas and full-stops. It really was an exemplary performance of how not to be a presenter.
An experience to repeat?
And yet somehow the former duchess managed to pull the whole thing off with a kind of endearing naivety. She was given the role of spinning the wheel in the daily Spin to Win competition and when Alison Hammond asked her if this was the first time she’d spun a wheel she excitedly exclaimed ‘It IS!’ as if she couldn’t believe her luck.
A special shout-out must go to the excellent Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond who held it all together. Without whom Ferguson may have just ended up on the floor in a fetal position sobbing. Is it a presenting choice they’ll repeat? Let’s hope not.
Read more:
⋙ Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson: Is remarriage on the cards? Experts seem to disagree
⋙ Sarah Ferguson tipped to be on Celebrity Big Brother as show bosses plot to offer her £500,000
⋙ Sarah Ferguson to make guest appearance on ITV as bosses try to hire her permanently
Sources:
The Standard: This Morning viewers unimpressed by Sarah, Duchess of York's 'painful' co-hosting debut
The Guardian: Why I feel sorry for Sarah Ferguson
