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Sally Nugent: BBC star defends Dan Walker after viewer brands him a 'patronising twit'


Sally Nugent, 48, found herself jumping to the defence of her BBC Breakfast co-star Dan Walker, 43, after a disgruntled viewer slammed him for being condescending and “mansplaining” to his female colleague. Following an interview with a survivor from the recent New Zealand volcano eruption, the viewer believed Dan was patronising Sally by re-explaining the clip she had also watched.

She was quick to shut down the claims that Dan was a “patronising twit”, as she hit back at the fan, explaining his assumption was incorrect.

The BBC Breakfast duo spoke to a few people who told their accounts of the terrifying volcano eruption on the White Island, known locally as Whakaari, in New Zealand.

The devastation has left a reported six individuals dead, more than 30 injured with many suffering from severe burns, and nine people of the 47 visitors to the private resort still missing.

After one of the emotive interviews that showed footage of the erupting volcano billowing smoke into the atmosphere, Dan and Sally spoke about the tragedy among themselves.

But one fan took to social media to share their thoughts on how he “patronised” his co-star.

READ MORE: BBC News: Viewers hit out at Sally Nugent’s World Cup coverage

Voicing their opinion, the fan took to Twitter, as they ranted: “Oh good grief, @mrdanwalker is mansplaining an interview with a survivor of the NZ eruption to @sallynugent who was sitting next to him on the @BBCBreakfast sofa & watched the same footage.

“Just checked his profile but oddly it doesn’t have the words ‘patronising twit’ anywhere,” they continued.

The outspoken viewer caught the attention of Dan’s colleague, who quickly responded with a clear explanation.

“Dan was summarising the story for viewers who may have only just switched on. It’s what we do on telly all the time. I’ve met a few mansplainers and Dan is not one of them,” she insisted.

“Ooh… that’s gonna hurt,” he began with a laughing face.

“You see, what [they] did there was explain to you that actually you were ‘mansplaining’ at the same time as accusing me (falsely) of doing the same thing to Sally.”

Being in the public eye every morning in front of millions of viewers means Dan is no stranger to regular backlash from fans.

He was called out by a viewer on Tuesday, after he made a sarcastic joke about today’s general election, where he wished the lies and deceit surrounding the world of politics would end.

The row between the BBC host and the viewer stemmed after Dan responded to a tweet by Victoria Derbyshire, after she posted a clip from an interview on her show with Labour MP Jon Ashworth about his comments on his own party.

Calling Labour’s situation “dire” during a private conversation with Conservative activist Greg Barker, the exchange was then leaked and Jon was called to explain himself.

Dan tweeted to his 600, 100 followers: “Recall all MPs from interviews and photo opportunities. This is getting ridiculous. Let’s just have the election tomorrow and save ourselves another day of all this.”

But a fan was quick to snap back, bashing him for wanting to “turn off” from the importance of the UK’s future, forcing Dan to justify his comments.

But, by the end of today it will all be over and Dan will sure be glad of it.

BBC Breakfast continues on weekdays at 6am on BBC One.



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