Richard Madeley has addressed his arrest for shoplifting in the 1990s live on Good Morning Britain, claiming it was ‘easy to forget to pay for things’.
The 63-year-old broadcaster presented the ITV breakfast show alongside co-host Kate Garraway, during a segment on giving more powers to security guards in shops.
The duo discussed the suggestion that shop detectives should be allowed to arrest or perhaps handcuff suspected shoplifters, even suggesting that supermarkets have built-in cells.
Kate, 57, urged viewers to have their say on the idea, saying: ‘There is such a scourge of shoplifting and it causes so many problems for shopkeepers and for everyone else. So let us know what you think.’
After reading some of the submitted comments, Richard gave his opinion, acknowledging his own experiences.
Richard Madeley has addressed his arrest for shoplifting in the 1990s live on Good Morning Britain, claiming it was ‘easy to forget to pay for things’
The broadcaster, 63, presented the ITV breakfast show alongside co-host Kate Garraway, during a segment on giving more powers to security guards in shops
He said: ‘I know from personal experience that it is very easy to forget to pay for things.’
The presenter continued: ‘And woah, just a store detective, would you really accept that a store detective would handcuff you?
“I mean, you’d say, ‘Woah, wait a minute! I just made an honest mistake, let me explain.’ There’s a lot to do.’
Richard was arrested in 1994 for twice failing to pay for items, including champagne, at a Tesco supermarket in Walkden, Greater Manchester. A jury later found him not guilty of the crime after he cited memory loss.
Speaking to The Sun last year about the incident, he said: ‘Thank God Twitter didn’t exist then. But the whole thing was so obvious that not paying was a mistake.
‘It was leaked by someone at Tesco. But at that moment I thought, “Well, of course it’s going to be okay, because otherwise the world has gone crazy.” I never felt like I was going to be canceled.
‘Granada Television was fantastic. And the Monday after they found out, knew the facts of the case and knew it was nonsense, they told me not to worry.
The duo discussed the suggestion that shop detectives should be allowed to arrest or perhaps handcuff suspected shoplifters, even suggesting that supermarkets have built-in cells.
After reading some of the submitted comments, Richard gave his opinion and acknowledged his own experiences
Richard was arrested in 1994 for twice failing to pay for items, including champagne, at a Tesco supermarket in Walkden, Greater Manchester (pictured 1998).
In 2008, Richard explained that the incident happened accidentally after he forgot to put champagne through the till next to his grocery store (pictured in September)
‘We just kept going. I went to the Crown Court, my lawyer said I had to appear before a jury so people could see it was a clear mistake. So that’s what I did. And I was absolutely acquitted.
‘But I told the viewers. I mean, Judy had to open This Morning by herself while I sat in the courtroom for two minutes, then I got in my car and drove from Manchester to Liverpool, rocked up and walked around the set while she was in the middle of the interview, and go sit down and join in. It was surreal.’
He added: ‘After the trial it was as if it had never happened. I’ve never really talked about it because, as I said at the beginning of this interview, when you’re in front of the camera you’re only one sentence away, and you can so easily get it wrong.”
In 2008, Richard explained that the incident happened accidentally after he forgot to put champagne in the till next to his grocery store.
Speaking to The Guardian, he insisted: ‘I just couldn’t concentrate. I put the food through the register, I forgot to take out the champagne.
‘It was, ‘I can do anything, I can juggle eight balls in the air’, and basically I came in as a terrible cropper. I can joke about it now.’
It comes after Richard candidly revealed last week that he and wife Judy Finnigan often sleep in separate beds.
The iconic duo first met in the 1980s while working at ITV Granada Television, before tying the knot in 1986.
It comes after Richard candidly revealed last week that he and wife Judy Finnigan often sleep in separate beds (pictured together in 2019)
The iconic duo first met in the 1980s while working at ITV Granada Television, before tying the knot in 1986.
Richard revealed that he sleeps in the guest room when he presents GMB because he has to wake up in the middle of the night and doesn’t want to disturb Judy’s sleep.
During a performance on Kate Thornton’s White Wine Question Time podcast he admitted: “When I’m doing Good morning Great Britain I sleep in the guest room. I probably sleep a little better in bed with Judy, but I can do just fine on my own too.’
On the possibility that his wife’s early awakening could disrupt sleep, he added: ‘I wouldn’t dream of doing that to Judy. Besides everything else, you can’t mess with Judy and her sleep.”