Vernon Kay has opened up about Lorraine Kelly’s light-hearted scolding after he attempted a Scottish accent on air.
Last week during his Radio 2 programme, Vernon mimicked the accent, prompting Lorraine, 65, to label it “incredibly offensive” in jest and suggested that he should consider an “accent awareness course”. On Monday’s show, Vernon humorously claimed that he was now under Lorraine’s vigilant supervision, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Vernon shared with his co-host Janice: “Lorraine monitors me now Janice, that’s what you missed last week. Lorraine’s been telling me off for taking the mickey.”
Following their exchange, Vernon played a voice clip from Lorraine in which she teasingly enquired: “Vernon, what you doing? ,” adding the Scottish phrase “Haud yer wheesht”.
On Tuesday, Vernon reflected on how the media had reported their playful back-and-forth, expressing dismay at how it was conveyed: “Scottish press picked up on that saying I got a right ticking off from Lorraine, crikey, oh it’s sad times when you’re having a little bit of fun and someone says, ‘oh, he got a right telling off from Lorraine.”
The popular presenter, aged 50, went on to affirm his affection for Lorraine on his Tuesday show, saying he “loves Lorraine”. He joked about her use of the Scottish accent as a form of “love” aimed towards his friend Phil.
He said to his audience: “Anyway, Phil and I, it’s man love, that’s what it is, but Lorraine keeps telling me off, on behalf of Scotland basically.”
Later, he re-broadcast Lorraine’s voice note and reiterated to his listeners: “I wasn’t taking the mickey Lorraine!”
The ITV presenter didn’t hold back after hearing Vernon attempt at a Scottish accent, saying: “Vernon, what are you doing? On behalf of Vernon Kay, I would like to apologise to all of my fellow Scots for that incredibly offensive stereotype.”
She went on to compliment the Scottish accent as “a beautiful thing that comes in many different varieties” and pointed out that “not everybody sounds like Billy Connolly, but that’s OK because we love him”.
Finishing her comments with a bit of banter, she announced: “So, to the people of Scotland, Radio 2 would like to once again apologise for Vernon Kay and please rest assured he is being sent on a 16 week accent awareness course.”
In a playful retort, Vernon joked: “Oh, I’ve been told, thank you Lorraine,” which led his colleague Ellie Brennan to add the final note: “You don’t mess with Lorraine.”