The This Morning studio turned awkward on Bank Holiday Monday as a debate unfolded over the correct pronunciation of the word ‘yoghurt’.
Clodagh McKenna was in the This Morning kitchen to whip up a batch of fluffy blueberry pancakes for presenters Vernon Kay and Rochelle Humes.
Yet as Clodagh explained how viewers can make buttermilk from scratch at home, Vernon seemed to take issue with her Americanised pronunciation of ‘yoghurt’ and turned to the crew in the studio to weigh in.
The This Morning consensus seemed to be that Clodagh was in the minority, before Alice Beer weighed in from across the studio to say the pronunciation that rhymes with ‘frog’ is the correct one.
Yet as Clodagh tried to regain control of her cooking segment, she jokily swiped at Alice for “eating into her time” on air.
Vernon and Rochelle are standing in for regular hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, who are set to return to the ITV studio to co-host next week.
Ahead of their return, the stars have spoken out about their delight at being able to hug each other again after Covid – but say guests are a little less hands-on.
Social distancing had kept the pair apart on the ITV show but Holly, 41, admits that while it was “lovely” to hug Phillip again once restrictions were lifted, guests still showed a bit of trepidation.
She said: “It feels like we’re up to full capacity again now with guests coming back in. It feels like the good old days.
“Although you still have that moment when someone walks towards you when they come on the sofa… I follow their lead really if they go in for a handshake or a hug.” Phillip agreed that while he and his friends are hugging again, it is yet to become the norm with the show’s guests.
He said: “It’s interesting that we are having to re-learn how to do that – not amongst our friendship groups but with guests who come in and we say ‘are we hugging?’ It scarred us all in some way and I don’t think we’ll ever forget that it happened because it was damaging on so many different levels.
“Some say, ‘I’ve almost forgotten how to be sociable’ so it might take a few of us a while to get back to normal.”
The pair are back on our screens on September 5 after taking the summer off.
And Phil, 60, says that after 40 years in the business, he doesn’t get nervous any more but still finds it bizarre how some guests do. He added: “Often it’s actors and you see their hands shake. For some, being themselves on live telly can turn them to jelly.”
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV and ITV Hub.
