ITV’s ‘Loose Women’ has been reported to industry regulator Ofcom after comments made by panellist Linda Robson.
The 58-year-old actress angered viewers when she seemed to describe residents of Stoke-on-Trent as "poor" during a discussion about a woman who was prosecuted for pocketing a £20 note she found on the floor of a shop in Blurton.
Linda said that the store where the incident took place looked "poor", adding that its customers didn’t appear to have "a lot of money".
The remarks prompted an official complaint from Blurton resident Kirsty Bailey, who argued Linda’s comments were ill-informed.
She said: "I just thought it was pretty disgusting to be honest. She knows nothing about the area.
"I felt she was speaking ill of the working class and the people of Blurton in general. With all the bad press the city has had recently – this is just another blow."
Kirsty said that Blurton is distinctly different to what Linda’s remarks would leave people to believe.
She told the Stoke Sentinel newspaper: "The people of Blurton are friendly and community-minded – there is nothing wrong with us.
"It would be nice to see people change their opinions of Stoke-on-Trent and other parts of the city. It was awful the way it was portrayed during the by-election."
During the discussion on ‘Loose Women’, Linda insisted she would always hand money into the authorities if she found it in the street.
The actress explained: "Whatever I lose, I always seem to get. I love those people who hand things in and that is why I’d always hand anything in that I found.
"If I found £20 in a shop I would have said ‘do you know who this belongs to?’ It looks like quite a poor shop – it’s not Waitrose or Marks and Spencer.
"It looks like they don’t have a lot of money, the people who shop there."
Loose Women reported to Ofcom
