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GMB viewers compare Richard Madeley to Alan Partridge after ‘unbelievable’ Covid vaccine comments

‘Comedy gold... without trying,’ one person said

Jacob Stolworthy
Thursday 03 June 2021 14:00 BST
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Richard Madeley compared to Alan Partridge after GMB appearance

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Richard Madeley is being sent up for going “full Alan Partridge” on Good Morning Britain.

The broadcaster was standing in as co-host of the ITV show alongside Charlotte Hawkins on Thursday (3 June), when the pair discussed the Covid vaccination.

More specifically, they were addressing results of a survey that found that one in five 18 to 29-year-olds would either refuse to take the vaccine when its offered to them or are undecided.

When Madeley asked whether people should be “restricted” from events for refusing the vaccine, Hawkins said: “It’s hard, isn’t it? Because I think you have the vaccine for yourself, but you also have the vaccine to protect everyone else.”

It’s here where the show devolved into what could essentially have been another episode of chat show spoof This Time with Alan Partridge, as Madeley channeled his inner version of Steve Coogan’s comedy character.

“One of the reasons, for example, that we have a law that says you must wear a seatbelt, is not just to protect the person wearing the belt; it’s that if you don’t wear a belt and you have a high-speed crash, [when] you go through the windshield, you might hit somebody else,” he said, adding: “That can actually happen.”

Watch the moment below.

GMB viewers immediately compared him to Partridge on social media.

Richard Madeley went ‘full Partridge’ with ‘GMB’ seatbelt analogy
Richard Madeley went ‘full Partridge’ with ‘GMB’ seatbelt analogy (Twitter)

“Richard Madeley’s transitioning period is finally over – he’s now 100 per cent Alan Partridge,” one viewer wrote, with another adding: “It is impossible to listen to Richard Madeley’s seatbelt analogy without hearing it in the voice of Alan Partridge.”

Writer Marc Burrows stated: “Every time you think Alan Partridge is a bit unbelievable as a mainstream, prime time TV host, out comes Richard Madely to remind us, if anything, it might be a bit on the nose.”

Another viewer called him “comedy gold... without trying”, adding: “Richard Madeley actually ‘IS’ Alan Partridge.”

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