This Morning sparks backlash after ‘aggressive’ Omid Scobie interview

This Morning presenter Craig Doyle has sparked backlash after his ‘aggressive’ confrontation of royal author Omid Scobie on the ITV show.

The writer recently published his new book about the royal family titled Endgame, which has been quick to stir up controversy.

Omid sat on the sofa in the ITV studio opposite Craig and his co-host Alison Hammond, as the pair questioned him over his new publication, claims that have been made about the Dutch version and his own personal views on the royal institution.

During the interview, Omid responded to claims that he’s a ‘mouthpiece’ for Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, stressing that he is not a friend of the former senior royals.

The conversation inevitably turned to the controversy sparked by the edition of Endgame that was put on sale in the Netherlands.

The translation reportedly named two members of the royal family that were said to have made comments speculating over the colour of the skin of Meghan and Harry’s son, Archie, before he was born.

Omid previously said that the Dutch edition might have had ‘translation errors’, insisting that he did not include the names in any version that he produced.

On Thursday’s This Morning, Craig, 52, brought up the translation that was sold in the Netherlands and has since been pulled from the shelves, stating: ‘You don’t accidentally put in a name, and you can’t put it down to a mistranslation, can you?

‘It does feel like a stunt to sell books.’

‘I wish it was the case,’ the author answered, as Craig asked: ‘How did it happen?’

‘It’s still being investigated right now. I wrote and edited the English version of the book with one publisher. That then gets licensed to other publishers. I obviously can’t speak Italian, German, French, Dutch, or any of the other languages that come out, so the only time you hear about the book is once it comes out in the public domain.’

Omid said that he was ‘as frustrated as everyone else’ over the controversy that has transpired.

‘I make it very clear in this book that I in every way possible want to adhere to the laws surrounding this subject. It’s why I’ve been very careful in how it’s described in the book, and it’s why I’ve never spoken about it beyond what I’ve said in the public domain before.’

The author shared that he was ‘glad’ that the version of the book in the Netherlands had been rescinded and is now being reprinted, while stressing that he can only speak on the English version.

‘I had never submitted a book that had their names in it,’ he vowed. He added that he didn’t necessarily feel ‘upset’, because he’s been ‘operating in a bubble of no emotion for the last 10 days’.

Craig then chimed again to add: ‘But you’re a journalist, and you know the effect a book like this has, so surely you can’t be surprised by the reaction.’

On X (formerly Twitter), numerous people have reacted to the This Morning interview with varying points of view, with some feeling incredibly infuriated by how intensely Craig was questioning Omid, especially considering he didn’t even fully read the book.

‘Alison Hammond sitting in silence & her awful side kick Craig Doyle being aggressive. Omid Scobie handled himself very well, even when their told him there haven’t read his book. How do u interview the author w/out reading the book? [sic],’ one viewer wrote.

‘I wish they interviewed Tory politicians the way they interview Omid Scobie. Craig should be ashamed,’ another stated.

Someone else said that they found the interview ‘uncomfortable to watch’, asking ‘how Craig could sit there and go in on him as much as he did when he hasn’t even read the book’.

Another accused Craig of acting like ‘a jerk’ towards their guest, which they found ‘really disgusting’ to witness.

However, others felt more positively towards the presenter regarding the interview, praising him for the assertive approach that he took.

When Omid asked Craig and Alison if they had read his book Endgame, the latter admitted that she hadn’t.

Craig said that he had read ‘an awful lot of it’, ‘through the pages of the book, some of the reviews’.

In response to this moment, one shocked viewer remarked: ‘They knew he was going to be on as a guest today neither of them bothered themselves to read his book? Craig doing the interview purely based on selective reviews from the press? Not the best look really whatever you think of him.’

There were also some who commended Omid on the way he carried himself through the conversation, with one comment reading: ‘Omid Scobie is holding his own. We do need reasoned conversations around race issues etc.’

This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.

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