Richard Madeley accidentally revealed a surprise a bit too prematurely as he returned to Good Morning Britain. The presenter was back at the helm of the ITV news programme on Tuesday (May 2) alongside Susanna Reid who returned following an extra-long weekend away from screens for the Bank Holiday.
During the programme, the hosting duo were joined live via video link by a young Leeds United fan who recently went viral on social media after a video of him appearing to be 'ignored' by the players sparked outrage. Eight-year-old Dylan was seen in the clip waving to the members of the squad who turned up at Leeds' team hotel following the 4-1 defeat at Bournemouth
The club later put out a statement saying: "Words can’t express how sorry we are that the youngster in the video wearing the Leeds kit is not shown more love from the squad." And Dylan appeared on the programme alongside his parents who wanted to set the record straight.
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Dad John said: "What you have got to remember is the video is just a tiny snapshot of what happened." He went on to say that Dylan wasn’t 'blanked' and many of the players did 'smile and wave', with some even fist-bumping him.
Richard replied: "The angle at which they were standing just didn’t show the smiles. It looks to us from this one vantage point as if they’re completely blanking Dylan, but you’re saying that actually they were giving him a smile." But John said: "That’s not the case. And if there were a couple of players in the zone, they were in the zone because of this match."
As the segment came to a close, Richard and Susanna had a surprise in store for Dylan, although it went a bit wrong as Richard was unaware that it was actually a surprise they were delivering and that the youngster had no clue.
"Leeds are offering Dylan, I’m sure you know this, travel to and from Leeds, what they call the mascot experience, which includes meeting the players in a much more controlled environment," the 63-year-old said. But as Richard went on, it clear by their stunned faces that the family didn't know about any of it.
"We didn’t know this!’ his dad said to which Susanna interjected: "They didn’t know this, Richard!" He then moaned: "Well why did they tell me this then?" as he tried to defend his mistake. "No, this is all news," Susanna remarked before explaining: "We’re announcing this to you now Dylan! So Leeds United have offered you a trip to Elland Road and you will be a mascot at a game."
"That’s insane," a stunned Dylan eventually managed to reply as his family beamed over the news. But GMB viewers were less than impressed with the way it played out. @AndyBulik tweeted: "Richard Madeley f****d up a surprise for a little boy. #GMB." @otterman62 posted: "Whoever is responsible for that car crash ruining the surprise for Dylan, whether it’s the producer or Richard needs to go………..toe curling embarrassment."
Others, however, were pleased with the outcome. @johnhorneartist said: "So glad Dylan will be a Mascot for Leeds United's next match, its turned a negative into a positive, a great outcome, esp with Dad John, putting things straight, i'm so over the moon for the family. A great interview also by Susanna & Richard."
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