Vernon Kay was forced to backtrack during a live BBC Radio 2 broadcast after making an "offensive" remark to travel reporter Ellie Brennan. The incident occurred on the October 20 instalment of his mid-morning show, as he tried to come up with a motoring-themed nickname for her ahead of the regular traffic update.
Playful Nickname Exchange Takes an Awkward Turn
Vernon introduced Ellie as "Lady of the Lanes" but then paused as he attempted to think of more nicknames in the same vein. She suggested he was "buying yourself a bit of time", to which he replied: "Can you hear the cogs? The Queen of the Carriageway, yeah, the Heroine of the Highway." A colleague then offered "the Duchess of the Dual Carriageway".
At this point, Vernon noted they had "binned off Lady of the Layby". As Ellie started her traffic segment, he jumped in with another idea: "The Harlot of the Hard-shoulder".
Backtracking and Realisation
The pair descended into laughter as Vernon realised he couldn't "say that" on air. He was audibly struggling to talk over his fits of laughter and reassured her that he didn't actually mean her by the word, claiming it "just rhymed". He mimicked the sound of a reversing truck, seemingly backtracking on his statement.
Once the segment ended, Vernon said: "I've just given it a Google. Yeah, it's not what I thought it meant. Yeah, education is key. You learn something every day. Wow, that's definitely not you. Accidental Partridge are having a field day right now. I know; now, I've just given it a Google, I'm like, 'Oh no, it's quite offensive'. Watch your facts, please."
Previous Playful Exchange
Accidental Partridge likely refers to an X account of the same name, which pokes fun at celebrity gaffes and banal moments, drawing inspiration from the comedy character Alan Partridge, played by Steve Coogan.
The incident follows a previous broadcast in which Vernon joked to Ellie that he had been "outed" after she asked him about bizarre graffiti involving music he allegedly enjoys in the bath. She had asked: "I've got something to bring up with you. Have you seen this thing going around about you online?" Vernon replied: "Oh, it's not the scrolling under the bridge, is it?" Ellie continued: "If you haven't seen it, this is going everywhere. There's graffiti that says 'Vernon Kay listens to Steps in the bath'... Is that true?" Vernon responded by singing a few lines of their song Tragedy and declared: "Yeah, I've been outed!"
In West Denton, Newcastle, the odd snippets of writing had been appearing day after day, leaving locals baffled. Another strange assertion read: "Lorraine Kelly is barred from Wetherspoons for stealing cutlery". Another said: "Stacey Solomon gives Joe a sticker for helping with the dishes".
