WalesOnline readers have reacted to comments made by Janet Street-Porter criticising Wales. The outspoken TV personality labelled Wales "grey", the language "incomprehensible", the people "gloomy", and the food terrible in a lengthy rant in her weekly column.
Writing in the Daily Mail about plans to rebrand Wales so as to appeal to more tourists, she said: "At the risk of sounding racist (I am half-Welsh), re-branding the place as a jolly land welcoming visitors with open arms is a nigh-impossible task that piles of cash won't change."
Janet, who co-presents ITV's Loose Women, lays out her qualifications for being able to offer up such dismissive views of Wales by explaining her mother was born in north Wales. She added: "Every school holiday until the age of 16 was spent staying with my granny in a small village in north Wales.."
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She even took part in a TV reality show where she was "locked up in a derelict Welsh village" for a week and "force-fed language lessons from dawn to dusk", she says. For all her trips to Wales, however, her overriding impression is one of greyness: "Grey skies. Grey granite chapels. Grey sea," she asserts.
But WalesOnline readers couldn't disagree with Janet more if they tried. The story had nearly 2,000 replies as people tore Janet's comments to shreds and told her how wrong she is. Here's what people said:
Diana Charles said: "I don't suppose she has been to South Wales. We have The Gower peninsula, first area of outstanding natural beauty in 1956. Our beaches are the most beautiful anywhere in the world. Stay away Janet, we don't need you." You can get more news and other story updates by subscribing to our newsletters here.
Tania Brown said: "I am a Londoner here. Omg...how wrong can Porter be? I totally love Wales, the culture, the scenery, the mountains, beaches and city but mostly everyone has been the most incredibly kind and friendly people I have met in my life. So so so glad we moved to Wales."
Vicky Ashford said: "Having lived all my life in Wales I find her comment about neighbours odd. In the valleys us neighbours all look out for each other. Also if her mother, aunt and budgie all spoke Welsh in front of her for 15 years and she still couldn’t pick it up she must be a bit what we Welsh call twp (stupid)."
Eleri Burton said: "To be fair, it’s many years since Janet was a child, Wales has changed a great deal since then. She’s being very blinkered about a beautiful country."
Liz McCarthy said: "Everyone is entitled to their opinion but we in Wales know that we have great beaches great scenery and most of all great people. We don't need or want negative opinions from so called celebrities."
Steve Mount said: "I have lived 20 years in England, 20 years in Germany and 20 years in Wales. Each of those countries are great in there own way. I love Wales and wouldn’t want to move again. I lived on Gower for 10 years and have worked right across south and mid Wales, meeting great people along the way. Wales is unique. In particular Swansea and the surrounding area. Come to Wales on holiday and take a look around. It’s a wonderful place to live"
Duncan Foulkes said: "Unbelievable comment. She is talking about a different Wales to the one I know and love. She obviously hasn't visited our wonderful beaches, climbed our green hills and rugged mountains, visited our beautiful towns and villages, discovered our rich heritage and culture and abundant wildlife or admired our many scenic lakes and rivers. 'Grey'? She must be mistaking Wales with another country. Just as well that millions of people appreciate the real Wales."
Angharad Porter said: "Then don't come to Wales, Janet. We won't miss you. We have beautiful beaches, rolling hills, amazing views from the tops of the mountains, delicious food and drinks and a beautiful language which, by the way, can't be that hard to learn... my 7 year old is fluent in it."
Jennifer Thomas said: "Who cares what she thinks? I don’t. She is just a bitter woman with maybe bitter memories of Wales as a child and she has based her comments on these memories. Wales doesn’t need rebranding as it sells itself very well as it is - the number of returning tourists proves that. As for the language, you tried to learn it but failed, so basically, you’re twp! So stick your comments in your pipe Janet and smoke it! We don’t need or want your opinion."
