Viewers criticise Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford 'awkward' interview with Mark Lester

Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford gave what viewers are calling a ‘painful’ and awkward’ interview with former child star Mark Lester on Friday.

The This Morning married presenters asked Lester about his friendship with Michael Jackson, and how he served as a sperm donor for the late King of Pop.

The 60-year-old actor, who shot to fame as a child star in 1968’s Oliver!, had previously claimed to be Jackson’s daughter Paris’ biological father. Holmes grilled him on the subject, and Langsford asked if Jackson was infertile.

Lester, who is a father of four, said Jackson asked him ‘how he did it’ which perplexed both Holmes and Langsford.

“I was a sperm donor for Michael. I had four children and he said how do you do it?” Lester explained.

“I think again, extending his naivety, I think he knew how to do it. I think he was going on the fact how I was so fertile and what was the secret, and I couldn’t answer that,” he continued.

Several viewers shared on Twitter how ‘awkward’ the interview was, and one even slammed it as ‘painful.’

Lester went on to defend his late friend’s innocence against the claims made in an upcoming documentary, Leaving Neverland, that explores the claims of two alleged victims of child sexual abuse at the hands of Jackson.

“I know neither of those guys. I can’t comment on that. I can only tell you my experience.

“My family visited Netherland many times, spending Christmas with him. These awful allegations are not the man I knew,” he said.

While Lester says he was close friends with Jackson for decades, some viewers weren’t so sure. Many went on Twitter to complain that the actor was simply using him for publicity.

Leaving Neverland is set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday January 26 in Utah, America.

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