Strictly Come Dancing star Ugo Monye has leapt to defend his friend and Strictly co-star Tilly Ramsay, 19, after LBC presenter Steve Allen called her “a chubby little thing” on his show earlier today. The former rugby player questioned why Steve’s “scrutiny” of Tilly was “relevant”, as he addressed wider problems, stating that the radio presenter’s comments about Tilly’s weight and appearance weren’t the only issues.
In view of his 117,700 followers, Ugo asked why Steve, 67, felt “comfortable enough” to comment on Tilly’s body.
Ugo wrote: “The fact that @steveallenshow said what he said on LBC isn’t the only issue here IMO.
“The wider societal problem here is that people feel comfortable enough to scrutinise the appearance of a young woman on national radio – why is it relevant?”
The star also shared his comments to Instagram while tagging Tilly.
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Earlier today, Tilly shared a clip to Instagram of the radio presenter talking about her role on MasterChef Australia.
Speaking about her recent appearances on Strictly, Steve said: “Is she? Well, she can’t bloomin’ well dance.
“I’m bored with her already.”
He went on: “She’s a chubby little thing, isn’t she? Have you noticed?
“It’s such a shame that someone is trying to make such a positive experience negative,” Tilly added.
The daughter of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay continued: “This isn’t the first and definitely won’t be the last comment made about my appearance and I accept that and I’m learning to accept myself.”
“But please remember that words can hurt and at the end of the day I am only 19 and I’m so grateful for all the amazing opportunities that I have been able to take part in.”
The star explained that she understood that she was in the public eye, but said that it was never ok to publicly criticise someone’s appearance.