Alison Hammond apologises for ‘making light’ of banning singing in theatres

The presenter and her colleagues Dermot O’Leary, and Vanessa Feltz had been debating over whether or not audience members should sing along at jukebox musicals while professional actors were performing onstage.

Alison even said she was ‘devastated’ to hear singing was not encouraged in a conversation that was branded ‘incredibly stupid’ by theatre professionals.

Since then, police were called to Manchester’s Palace Theatre on Friday after reports of two women disrupting the show and being dragged out of the audience.

The performance was subsequently cancelled, with pundits missing out on the final 10 minutes.

On Sunday, Alison took to Twitter with a statement that read: ‘After reflection and the comments I made on Wednesday’s show I want to apologise to anyone who I offended especially the incredibly talented theatre performers, who I have the utmost respect for.

‘I had no idea the level of disruption audiences were causing and tried to make light of the topic on Wednesday’s show, and for that I’m truly sorry.’

She added: ‘I am a great supporter of theatre and the arts and would never sing at the top of my lungs at any performance, I was wrong in what I said and I’ve given this a lot of thought over the past fw days and believe I was wrong.

‘On Thursday evening I attended a performance of the GBBO the musical which I absolutely loved and gave a standing ovation, theatre is a magical experience for me and my family.’

The 48-year-old concluded: ‘I want to use my platform for good as always and want to stand up with the performers, front of house and theatre staff especially after seeing what happened at The Bodyguard in Manchester, which has made me sick to my stomach.

‘Once again I am truly sorry but trust me I will do better in the future.’

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