GB News fans switched off minutes into the weekly instalment of The Saturday Five as AJ Pritchard made his TV debut. On Saturday night (October 3), the former Strictly Come Dancing dancer swapped the BBC ballroom for the GB News studios as he took the first steps into transitioning into a broadcast career.
The 31-year-old jumped into the hot seat as he discussed some of the biggest stories hitting the headlines and shared his thoughts on some of the UK's biggest issues. The TV star was firm in his opinion that petty crime in Britain has become normalised as he reacted to Robert Jenrick confronting shoplifters on the streets.
Petty crime comments
He fumed: "This country has petty crime, and it's starting to feel way too normal. I think the worrying thing is if you live or work in the city, and you see it all the time, somebody walks into a shop, they pick up their meal deal, they fill their pockets with something, and they walk out.
"Nobody stops them, and nothing seems to happen. And you might think, 'It's only a few pounds. What difference does it really make?' But when it happens thousands of times to thousands of shops every single day, and suddenly it's not so petty at all".
Mixed viewer reactions
The former ballroom dancer received mixed responses from viewers online, with many confessing that they had to switch off minutes into the evening show. Taking to X - formerly known as Twitter - viewers shared their thoughts on the broadcaster's presenting debut.
One user fumed: "What an absolute car crash! Disastrous presenting skills! Total amateur! I could have presented this slicker, more natural, looked like a bad school production! What are GBN thinking!? He's totally useless in the hot seat! He's a dancer, not a presenter!"
Another agreed: "He was rubbish, I couldn't watch it. He couldn't even read an autocue properly," as another echoed: "I don't normally comment, but he really isn't great. I usually love the Saturday Five, but I had to switch off tonight - sorry!"
Meanwhile, others really enjoyed his TV debut on the late-night show, with one user gushing: "My mum loved him on Strictly. I thought I would hate him, but I find he's a really nice, down-to-earth kind of guy."
Another agreed: "This was a brilliant first show, well done AJ!" as a third penned: "How brilliant is AJ Pritchard? What a lovely presenter!"
Ben Leo death threats
It comes hours after GB News star Ben Leo was inundated with support after revealing that he and his family had been receiving death threats. On Friday (October 2), the 27-year-old took to X to explain in a video how he had initially received disturbing threats on social media over the summer in 2025.
He began: "By the way, I'm used to death threats towards me. That's fine, I can handle it, but they were towards my family and children."
He revealed that it took 12 months for the Met Police to liaise with social media companies to find out where the threat came from. He also had close-protection security officers during the year-long wait, 24 hours a day, who protected his wife and kids on their school runs and weekly shopping trips. The broadcaster is coming out of the other side of it as he thanked GB News and his protection organisation for their continued support.
