Victoria Derbyshire apologies for Christmas Covid rule breaking comments ahead of I’m A Celebrity 2020 stint

Victoria Derbyshire, I'm A Celebrity 2020
(Image credit: Getty)

The BBC presenter has said sorry for suggesting she’d break the rules

I'm A Celebrity 2020 contestant Victoria Derbyshire has issued an apology after she came under fire from fans for suggesting she would break the lockdown rules in order to spend Christmas with her family.

The former BBC TV presenter, who is set to star in I’m A Celebrity 2020 has taken to Twitter to publicly apologise for the comments made during a magazine interview.

And she confirmed that she would be sticking with the government guidelines in place on Christmas Day.

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The I'm A Celebrity 2020 contestant wrote, “Good morning. I’m starting the day by saying I’m sorry: a few weeks ago the Radio Times asked me (amongst other things) what would potentially happen at Christmas with my own family if the rule of six was still in place....

She continued to explain, “I talked about my mum, her partner & my dad-in-law spending it with us - making seven in our home in a Tier One area (medium). It was hypothetical - however I was totally wrong to say it & I’m sorry. We’ll of course continue to follow whatever rules are in place on Dec 25th.”

The controversial comments which sparked anger came from an interview with Radio Times in which she said,"If the rule of six is still in place... we're breaking it to have the rule of seven. We just are. It's fine. We'll do it knowing what the risks are. We're not stupid.

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She continued, "We're going to be sensible and buy a thermometer gun. But we have to be together at Christmas. It feels almost irresponsible saying that, but I don't think we're alone in feeling that way.

"We need to see my elderly mum and my husband's elderly dad. We just do."

The I'm A Celebrity 2020 star had explained how her mum lives in Bolton while she lives in London, so she hasn’t been able to visit as often as she’d like during the pandemic.

 

Selina Maycock

Selina is a Senior Entertainment Writer with more than 15 years of experience in newspapers and magazines. She has covered all things Entertainment for GoodtoKnow, Woman&Home and My Imperfect Life. Before joining Future Publishing, Selina graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2006 with a degree in Journalism. She is fully NCTJ and NCE qualified and has 100wpm shorthand.