Anthea Turner has spoken out about the intense backlash she faced over a photograph taken on her wedding day in August 2000, when she married her ex-husband Grant Bovey. The image, which showed the couple eating Cadbury's Snowflake bars, led to accusations that they had staged the moment for profit.
Speaking to The Sun, the former Blue Peter presenter, now 60, said: 'You'd have thought I had single-handedly manufactured Covid-19 in the laboratory and released it to the masses.' She added that she received a 'barrage of abuse' and was accused of selling out at her own wedding, despite not receiving any payment for the photo.
The photograph was taken by their wedding photographer without their knowledge of the planned promotional tie-up between the magazine and confectionery company. The couple only learned of the furore during their honeymoon in Kenya, which Anthea said created a difficult start to their marriage.
The fallout affected her career, with Anthea claiming she 'lost so much work' as she felt 'tainted'. She also lost friends, shutting herself away out of embarrassment. Reflecting on the period, she said she felt she needed to apologise 'for just being, apologising for the fact I had an affair with a married man, apologising for the fact I apparently did this heinous thing with a bar of Cadbury's.'
More recently, Anthea has sought therapy to move on and let go of some anger. She is now engaged to businessman Mark Armstrong, though their planned wedding in Italy has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
