As odd news stories go, this one is up there. Presenters Noel Edmonds and Rachel Riley have publicly butted heads over her appearance in a… Lloyds advert.
Yep.
Deal Or No Deal’s Noel, 68, is currently suing the bank for £60 million amidst claims they drove his business to fold.
He criticised the Countdown presenter for appearing in their advert which aims to raise awareness surrounding mental health.
The TV star said in an interview: “Apparently Rachel has been paid £20,000 to lend her name to the campaign.”
He publicly called on her to return the money to restore her “integrity”, adding: “It’s possible that Rachel is not aware that Lloyds Bank is responsible for the destruction of lives and livelihoods on a military scale.”
The 32-year-old hit back, claiming she was not paid for the advert which features a host of stars encouraging others to speak up about their mental health.
Taking to Twitter in a two-part message, Rachel wrote: “I’m proud to have taken part in a diversity in advertising campaign with @channel4 & @AskLloydsBank to encourage conversations in mental health issues.
“For my involvement, a total of £8K was donated to my favourite charity @wwwalmtorg. I personally didn’t receive a penny.
“I have supported & will continue to support MH campaigns I believe in.
“The response I received to this campaign’s ‘get it out in the open’ messaging was overwhelmingly positive from people affected by these issues & shows just how important discussing mental health issues is.”
Read more: Rachel Riley quits presenting job after being bullied on Twitter
This isn’t the first time the Countdown presenter has struggled with Twitter. She recently revealed that she’d been forced to quit her Sky Sports presenting job after getting “personal abuse”.
According to The Times, Rachel had been offered a new contract after her 12-month deal was coming to an end, but she decided to pursue other opportunities after the “hideous abuse”.
But it looks like her job on Countdown is at least secure for the foreseeable.
On Friday morning, Rachel took to Instagram to reveal that 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown was returning for another series.
Alongside a picture of Jimmy Carr and the gang, she wrote: “New series alert!!! Starts tonight 9pm @channel4. Finally! 😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😾😾🕛 #8outof10cats #8outof10catsdoescountdown #newseries #comedy #tv”.
Read more: Noel Edmonds reveals attempt to take his own life
Any chance we can get Noel on Countdown so we can see where this feud might go?
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