Saturday Kitchen viewers have hit back at critics of the show’s Pride-themed episode that aired on Saturday (1 June).
The popular BBC cookery programme hosted by Matt Tebbutt, served up a Pride party to celebrate and honour the LGBTQ+ community “with a vibrant and inclusive special with plenty of delicious food” in honour of Pride month.
However, some viewers took issue with the theme of the show saying “it is not a documentary” and accusing it of “promoting a political ideology”.
The episode, which featured special guests incuding stand-up comedian Sarah Keyworth and Strictly Come Dancing star Layton Williams, was defended by fans as they reiterated “You only have to look at the comments to know why Pride is needed!”
Despite the backlash from some corners, many celebrated the episode as “joyous”.
“As a straight 63-year-old woman, all I can say is that today’s #SaturdayKitchen is an absolute & utter joy,” wrote one person.
Another commended the show’s creators for going beyond “virtue-signalling” by sharing information and education on the historically marginalised group.
“I’ve never shed a tear watching a cookery show before,” began one viewer. “However, kudos to @SaturdayKitchen for a Pride month edition that went beyond virtue-signalling into education. If only LGBT+ kids of the 1970s/1980s had witnessed something similar.”
But it was not enough for others who insisted the programme had been “ruined”, saying “You are a cooking show. Stay in your lane and resist the endless BBC mantra of ‘woke’” while another branded it “Saturday Kitchen Woke”.
Viewers defended the theme as they branded critics “homophobes”.
“I’m not homophobic but just want it to be about cooking good food not stories about being socially acceptable in society because you’re queer,” said another in return.
“Why can’t the bigots just listen for a moment and put the keyboard down,” wrote another supporter on X/Twitter. “LGBTQ people are real people you know. Or go out and buy some Stella and sit out in the garden for the next 90 mins.”
Viewers also branded the response as an unnceessary panic as one person calculated, “Just 1 show out of 52, or less than 2 per cent of @SaturdayKitchen shows feature Pride. So many here getting really angry. Just proves why Pride is still needed.”
Saturday Kitchen’s Pride episode is available to view on BBC iPlayer.
