GMB viewers fume over 'rude' guest's 'ageist' comments on Joan Collins

26 September 2023 , 07:18

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GMB viewers fume over 'rude' guest's 'ageist' comments on Joan Collins

Good Morning Britain viewers furiously hit out at guest and actress Debbie Arnold over ageist comments she made about Joan Collins ahead of the iconic star's appearance on the show on Tuesday.

On Monday, actress Debbie, 68, and journalist Dawn Neesom, 58, debated if people over 60-years-old can be considered sex symbols after Strictly Come Dancing's oldest contestant Angela Rippon stunned viewers with her high-kick in the air during her first live performance of the series.

Dawn argued: "To be a sex symbol, you have to be a certain age. It's about being confident in your own body, in your experience. It's about being confident in your own skin and younger people don't have that. A real sex symbol has va va voom and character and personality."

Debbie and Dawn clashed during the debate (ITV)

Host Richard Madeley, 67, agreed: "Kylie Minogue is more of a sexual figure now than she was 20 years ago," while Dawn added: "We are talking about the love island generation, those young men and women are sexy but they are not sex symbols. Today we have people like Helen Mirren, [aged 78] who is incredibly sexy and Joan Collins, [age 90], who is amazing."

However, Debbie disagreed: "Come on, really. A sex symbol is someone you want to have sex with. If you had sex with Joan, she would fall to pieces. Do you really think men want to have sex with her now?"

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Her comments were greeted with an awkward silence in the studio while viewers took to Twitter to complain. One said: "Omg. I actually dropped my jaw at that woman’s comment of Joan Collins, how rude, distasteful and disrespectful… unbelievable from an older woman who should have learned class in her years."

"Shake her and she would fall to pieces?? One of the nastiest most disrespectful things I have heard in a while. #gmb #ageism Joan Collins is beautiful AND classy a rarity," another added and a third said: "How daft is this woman. Doesn’t she think Joan Collins is a sex symbol to older men. It’s not all about the younger generation." Someone else shared: "#GMB. God what a hideous thing to say about Joan Collins."

Charlotte McIntyre