Jeremy Vine has had a hectic few days: first, he was nearly hit by a van, and then he was involved in a horrible, awful on-air gaffe.
On Wednesday afternoon, at the close of his broadcast, the 58-year-old Radio 2 host got a live call from Vivian in Southampton to discuss charitable donations.
However, a normal phone call swiftly devolved into an awkward exchange when Jeremy perceived Vivian’s voice to be deeper than intended.
‘Vivian is in Southampton,’ Jeremy opened up their conversation, going on to introduce one of the last guests on his mid-afternoon show that day.
When Vivian said, ‘Jeremy, nice to speak to you,’ Jeremy then responded with words that left everybody listening creasing and cringing by their radios.
‘Gosh, whenever I say [the name] Vivian, I expect a woman, isn’t that crazy?’ the presenter said, to which Vivian replied, ‘Uh, I’m transgender, Jeremy.’
Aiming to quickly get his show back on track after the cringe-worthy faux pas, Jeremy said: ‘Okay, forgive me. I wasn’t meaning to go into that. Forgive me.’
Despite the fact that she was on national radio, Vivian answered calmly, stating, ‘No, no, that’s totally great,’ before continuing with the conversation without incident.
The gaffe instantly went viral on social media, with many comparing it to a gaffe that fictitious radio host Alan Partridge could make.
Alan Partridge, played by Steve Coogan, first appeared as a character on the BBC Radio 4 comedy show On the Hour in 1991.
He was then transformed into a TV character known for his bad slips of words when appearing on TV or radio.
‘Why would you even say this in this year?’ said one user. ‘Just asking for trouble,’ while Accidental Partridge provided a video of the incident.
‘How is Jeremy Vine routinely more like Alan Partridge than Alan Partridge? The man is incredible,’ another person commented, again drawing the comparison.
Other users chose to see the funny side, posting as many bike puns as possible, given Jeremy’s penchant for recording his cycling journeys through London.
On Tuesday, Jeremy was engaged in a ‘unbelievable’ tragedy in which a vehicle nearly reversed over him when he was riding his bike across the capital.
‘This morning. About an hour ago. Illegal right turn, then watch. Unbelievable,’ he posted on X (formerly Twitter) to over 700,000 of his followers.
Source My Celebrity Life.
