Carol Vorderman has demanded an apology from Reform UK candidate Robert Kenyon over what she described as “disgusting comments” he made about her on social media. Kenyon is standing in the upcoming Makerfield byelection against Labour’s Andy Burnham.
The broadcaster and former Countdown star called Kenyon a “cowardly man” for a series of offensive posts, which have since been deleted along with his account. In 2021, Kenyon responded to a post about Vorderman that included a graphic sexual comment by saying: “He’s only saying what we’re all thinking.”
Danny Kruger, who joined Reform last September, defended Kenyon, describing the comments as “inappropriate” but not serious enough to remove him as a candidate. Kruger said Kenyon was “an ordinary man from an ordinary place” and that the comments were made before he entered politics.
Vorderman dismissed that defence, saying being an “ordinary man” was no excuse and that the public nature of the posts constituted online abuse. She said: “He’s a cowardly man, which is why he deleted one of his social media accounts.” Labour’s Angela Rayner also criticised the comments, calling them “repulsive misogynistic abuse.”
Further comments by Kenyon have been unearthed, including posts on a rugby league forum where he claimed women have abortions for “vanity purposes” and said women cannot “ref, drive or give directions.” A Reform spokesperson said Kenyon is “perfectly entitled to his own personal opinions on abortion” and described him as a “straight-talking, effective voice for normal working people.”
