This Morning regular Vanessa Feltz has responded to the backlash she received over her comments about coeliac disease.
During a pre-Christmas advice segment on Monday's (December 18) instalment of the ITV talk show, Feltz responded to a caller who said that she and her "fussy" teenager were "being forced to have a gluten-free Christmas" due to a family member being coeliac.
Feltz was criticised by viewers for her response, in which she described the situation as "absolutely ridiculous" and "completely unreasonable", while charity Coeliac UK took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to express its disappointment, calling Feltz's comments "damaging" and "inaccurate".
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Addressing the backlash on her TalkTV show yesterday (December 19), Feltz said: "I said [to the caller], 'I think you should eat the gluten free meal that your mother-in-law is kindly preparing and, you know, if your son refuses to eat a gluten-free meal, I’m not sure why he should, then give him a picnic on the way there or the way home in the car.
"I did not, nor would I for a second, suggest they should put the coeliac guest at risk in any way.
"Nor did I suggest they bring their own food and shove it in their mother-in-law’s oven or put it on the table, I would not dream of that."
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She continued: "Nor did I, in any shape or form, intend to disrespect or misunderstand how unpleasant it can be leading your life as a coeliac. Some of my best friends are coeliacs.
"And I spend a lot of time in Ireland, where a huge proportion of the population are coeliacs and suffering from coeliac disease. So I know how horrible it is if you should mistakenly find yourself eating something with gluten in it.
"So I am astounded by the reaction. I am horrified that anyone is upset. I would never want to upset anyone and I don’t actually think I said anything that was wrong.
"I checked before the show, I checked with Dr Phillipa Kaye after the show, I don’t think I said anything wrong. But if anyone misunderstood or felt that I did, I am very sorry."
This Morning airs weekday mornings on ITV from 10am and streams on ITVX, with Rylan and Emma presenting all week from Monday, December 4.
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Social Executive, Entertainment Portfolio After completing her joint honours degree in Journalism and English Literature at Cardiff University, Iona joined Digital Spy as a Content Production Intern in 2022, where she wrote across both news and features, specialising in TV and movies. Following her internship, Iona continued contributing to the site as a freelance reporter, becoming social executive for the Hearst UK entertainment portfolio in summer 2025. Iona now leads the DS social channels, covering red carpets with stars such as Paul Mescal, Austin Butler, and more.
