TV star Alan Titchmarsh has come under fire from fans for comments he made in an old clip showed in Netflix’s Jill Dando documentary.
The presenter, 74, insisted that women who are good-looking do not have to work as hard within the broadcasting industry.
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Alan said the comment during a sit-down interview with Jill.
At one point he says: “Ladies who say, ‘It’s much harder for us in broadcasting…’ And I keep thinking, ‘Absolute nonsense, I mean then if you’re a good-looking woman then it’s not difficult. It is easier.”
The broadcaster hit back at the time and said: “Actually, people expect more of women that’s the trouble.”
The resurfaced clip has angered some fans, with viewers slamming Alan’s “outdated” and “appalling” views.
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One unhappy viewer wrote: “Watching the Jill Dando doc and I didn’t realise that Alan Titchmarsh was going to be my new sworn enemy.”
A second commented: “Oh he’s going to be cancelled.”
Another posted: “I liked how Jill Dando responded to Alan Titchmarsh, suggesting that good looking women had it easier.”
A third commented: “I listened and thought how appalling.”
“His views were so outdated then, let alone now,” another fumed.
While other fans were also stunned by former BBC producer Bob Wheaton’s remarks about Jill.
“Watching the Jill Dando documentary on Netflix and listening to dinosaur Bob Wheaton who told Jill she looked ‘regional’ – like WTF,” a viewer raged.
“She had to change her hair, dress differently and lose weight.
“He is part of the sickening old boy attitudes that need stamping out.”
Another echoed: “He and those in those misogyny club are part of the problem women still face in this industry.”
This is not the first time that Alan has been
In 2013, Alan claimed that older women working in television should stop moaning about being passed over for jobs because it’s easier for them at the beginning of their careers.
The TV gardener told The Observer: “Men in television tend to last a bit longerat the end of their careers, but it is women who make hay at the beginning.”
“They don’t complain in their early days when they are disporting themselves on sports cars. I’d like to see a mix of all ages on TV and wish there could be less whingeing about it.”
The Netflix series Who Killed Jill Dando? comes almost 25 years after her death.
The Crimewatch, Holiday and Songs Of Praise presenter was killed by a single bullet on April 26 1999, on the doorstep of her home in Fulham, south-west London.
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