Following today's terror attacks in Brussels, the ever May Holly Willoughby assumed a rather different responsibility in her capacity as presenter of This Morning.
Instead of discussing vaginal gadgets or the drunken exploits of the previous night's industry award show, Holly was tasked with asking a man, on the scene in Brussels, about the morning's tragedy.
Holly asked: 'What's the situation like there on the street? What's the atmosphere like? Are people very, very scared?'
People on Twitter took umbrage at this line of questioning. For many, it was too simplistic - dim-witted, even - and unlikely to provoke an answer more telling than 'no shit, mate.'
Thanks to a series of unfortunate life-decisions, I have never been a presenter on This Morning. It's a massive bummer that gets me down every day, because I'll never know the challenges that such a gig poses.
However, I reckon one challenge involves the reporting of serious news in a way that will work on a highly non-serious show: The delicate balancing act of engaging an audience who are unused to it, in a manner that won't alienate them. Holly chose to tackle this challenge by asking if people were scared.
It is obvious. Maybe a touch thick. But when so many people choose to ignore the human elements of these tragedies in favour of political point-scoring, religious agendas, and fucking boring quibbles about questions on day-time TV, they forget how important humanity is.
We should be glad Holly asked if people were scared. It's perfectly normal to wonder and to feel it yourself. In a few days time, this kind of question will be an afterthought to a much larger, even scarier discussion.
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Words by Jack Blocker
Featured image: ITV
Featured Image Credit:Topics: This Morning, Holly Willoughby
