Viewers brand Rylan and Rochelle ‘unqualified’ for Rishi Sunak interview

What did you miss?

This Morning presenters Rylan Clark and Rochelle Humes had a heavy day of interviewing lined up for Tuesday, including chats with prime minister Rishi Sunak and the parents of the Nottingham attack victims - but viewers have claimed they were "out of their depth".

Clark and Humes are two of the ITV daytime show's regular rotation of hosts and have proved popular with viewers in the past, but many felt that they were unsuited to more serious interviews.

People complained that the prime minister got an easy ride by lining up a chat with two presenters with entertainment backgrounds as he gave his views on vaping laws, junior doctor pay and his own fasting.

What, how, and why?

This Morning viewers accused Rylan Clark and Rochelle Humes were accused of giving prime minister Rishi Sunak an easy ride when they sat down for a chat with him on Tuesday's show.

Clark and Humes covered topics ranging from Sunak's fasting Mondays to banning disposable vapes and his feelings on the junior doctors strikes.

But the TV stars were criticised for not grilling him enough as one person commented on X: "Rishi Sunak is being interviewed on ITV This Morning at 11.25 by those 2 well respected political journalists, known for their forensic questioning - Rochelle and Rylan. My case rests."

Someone else wrote: "Sure Rishi Sunak is quaking in his size 4’s at the prospect of a grilling by Rochelle &Rylan. Too scared to go a couple of rounds with Victoria Derbyshire."

Another viewer added: "I said this last time about Alison and Dermot, but I don't think that Rylan and Rochelle are qualified to interview someone as high-profile as the Prime Minister."

Last week, presenters Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond had interviewed leader of the opposition Sir Keir Starmer.

Viewers continued to mock the interview as one person commented: "Astonished that Rylan and Rochelle didn't ask about Northern Ireland on This Morning! Must have run out of time..." and another wrote: "Sunak bravely agrees to a brutally tough interview with incisive political brains Rylan Clark and Rochelle Hulmes."

"First question on #ThisMorning to Rishi is about his fasting. FFS, here we go. Next up is Vaping, Chewing gum stuck in toilets and whether Toilets Rolls should be over or under," fumed one person, as someone else added: "Rochelle needed to stop chatting and joking around too much with Rishi. Life under the tories is no laughing matter."

One viewer summed up the mood by commenting: "Rylan and Rochelle asking Rishi all the tough questions on This Morning - could he have asked for an easier ride? I suspect not."

What else happened on This Morning?

A political interview was not the only weighty issue lined up for Clark and Humes on Tuesday, as they also spoke to some of the families of the victims of the Nottingham attacks.

Valdo Calocane killed Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley Kumar in Nottingham last summer, and the parents of students Webber and O'Malley Kumar visited This Morning to share their views on Calocane's sentencing.

But again, viewers felt that the presenters were out of their depth as one person commented: "Rochelle & Rylan work well together for the ‘fun’ side of the show. But I don’t think they’re the best presenters to be interviewing the parents of the Nottingham attack victims or the prime minister imo."

Someone else agreed: "Rylan & Rochelle totally out of their depth with this interview. Feel so sorry for these parents."

Another viewer wrote: "Tbh I think Rylan handled the interview as well as he could. Rochelle's inexperience showed however and completely out of her depth when handling sensitive issues like this."

This Morning airs on ITV at 10am on weekdays.

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