Richard Madeley criticised for ‘bad judgement’ over submarine comments on GMB

Watch: GMB discusses the missing Titanic submarine

Good Morning Britain viewers were left furious when show host Richard Madeley made what they deemed to be inappropriate comments over a missing submarine.

Madeley, 67, was presenting Tuesday’s instalment of the popular ITV breakfast show when the topic of discussion turned to a submarine that went missing during a deep sea dive mission to visit the Titanic wreck.

A search and rescue operation continues to be underway after the 21 foot long vessel went missing on Sunday in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Read more: Titanic tourist sub missing: Search expands to deeper waters, says US Coast Guard

The passengers on the submarine — including British billionaire Hamish Harding — have enough oxygen to survive until Thursday meaning they are battling against a ticking clock to find them in time.

Madeley, alongside co-host Susanna Reid, was conducting an interview with Harding’s friend about the last text messages they exchanged before the disappearance with experts also appearing in the segment to give their take on the shocking event and the chances of survival for the missing crew.

The broadcaster then turned to a viewer led segment where he read out a series of tweets about the incident including some negative views.

He said: “There isn’t universal sympathy for their predicament, there’s a lot of people Tweeting in and messaging in saying they’re offering their prayers, that’s the majority, but there’s a significant minority that doesn’t have much sympathy for them.”

Madeley then read out some of the comments before making it clear that he personally found the bad responses “cold-hearted”

Read more: Richard Madeley's most ridiculous Good Morning Britain moments

But viewers weren’t impressed with the decision to give air time to the trolls lashing out at his “bad judgement.”

One disappointed fan wrote: “It was bad taste and bad judgement that Madeley decided to read out the twitter messages from the few idiots who thought the trapped submariners deserved their fate.”

More viewers then waded in to question why Madeley’s line of questioning after he quizzed experts on if the submarine may be found today.

One disgruntled viewer “‘Might we find them before noon today?’ Is Richard Madeley asking whether ITV Daytime will get the scoop on this?”

A second scathed: “Bookmaker Madeley asking for the odds of survival. What a p***k.”