Top 30 Times British Celebs Made An Arse Of Themselves

#30: Wagatha Christie

For three years, the nation was gripped by Coleen Rooney’s ad hoc investigation into who was leaking stories about her to The Sun. After setting a trap, she pinpointed Rebekah Vardy as the culprit, feeding her a fake story that subsequently appeared in the papers, and publicly accused her. Not one to accept defeat, Vardy then sued Rooney for libel. The court case turned into a farce, and it was eventually ruled that there was enough evidence for Rooney to make her accusation. Vardy incurred millions of points of legal costs – both her own and, eventually, Rooney’s – and even lost an appeal against the ruling, her reputation in tatters.

#29: The Truth About Gregg Wallace

Whoever was doing Gregg Wallace’s PR during all this was either doing a terrible job or Wallace simply ignored everything they told them. Regardless, the first public revelations about him behaving inappropriately led to a series of very ill-advised Instagram posts in which he suggested a conspiracy of middle class women was to blame for his downfall. But worse, he later revealed that he’d been diagnosed with autism, blaming that for his inability to keep his clothes on when alone in his dressing room with young women. This caused outcry from autistic charities, but Wallace followed up by trying to sue the BBC for discrimination. He’s now trying to relaunch his career on social media.

#28: Good Fergie vs Bad Fergie

For anybody else, this would have been a career-ending interview. Not so for Sarah Ferguson, whose media career continued on a steady trajectory until the truth about her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein came out. From calling him a “supreme friend” to taking her children to meet him – both after his earlier convictions of sex offences – Fergie is now persona non grata. This interview on “60 Minutes” gave us a window into how she views herself, though, as she blamed her many public scandals on “bad Fergie”, including storming out of the interview midway through when the Cash for Access controversy came up.

#27: Arguing with Mum

Harrison Sullivan, AKA HSTikkyTokky, was only famous to a certain demographic of young men and teenage boys until appearing in Louis Theroux’s documentary about the Manosphere. Seemingly terrified of Theroux making a hit piece on him, it turns out that the most embarrassing moment for HS was one he filmed himself on a livestream. In the clip, his mother complains about him making a mess and making her look bad, then makes him clean up on camera while he bickers with her. At the time, he was actually on the run for driving offences, which he’s since returned to the UK to plead guilty to, getting hit with community service and a driving ban.

#26: The Comeback Kid

Matt Hancock makes an arse of himself every single day, so it’s difficult to pick just one Hancockian blunder. But this deeply cringe comeback video of him visiting his constituents is perhaps the most foolish he’s ever looked – which says a lot when his political downfall came from a stomach-turning video of him snogging his aide. In the clip, he travels around his local area to talk to people, most of whom express pity for him. A few say they believed he’d done a good job during the pandemic – which the hindsight of the Covid inquiry tells us was not the case – but others are baffled by his presence. It’s only slightly weirder than his cameo in Wendy Maisey’s campaign video.

#25: Clarkson’s New Tractor

Throughout S4 of “Clarkson’s Farm”, it becomes clear that he badly needs a new tractor. The enormous Lambo that he infamously bought in series 1 just isn’t up to snuff anymore, despite only being a few years old. So, what does he do? He buys another Lamborghini, of course. Kaleb does concede that he got a good deal on the price, since tractors these days are extremely expensive, but his tune changes when Charlie Ireland comes along. Kaleb dobs Clarkson in for his outrageous purchase and he gets another telling off. We know he did this for the entertainment value – and it certainly worked – but it’s surely not the best choice for the farm.

#24: Nadine Coyle Lies About Her Age

Northern Irish singer Nadine Coyle first rose to fame after appearing on the Irish version of “Popstars”, but it wasn’t exactly because of her singing ability. Though she got a second chance in the spotlight when she joined Girls Aloud, that was after this fiasco, when she accidentally revealed to the production that she’d been lying about her age. She continued to lie, saying that she’d made a mistake and actually was over eighteen, including claiming that she’d lost her passport, but in the end, the truth came out. Coyle was driven away in tears, looking very silly not just for lying but getting caught out so easily.

#23: The Price of a Sausage Roll

Just how much is a Greggs sausage roll? In 2026, you might be forgiven for not knowing, given how bad inflation’s got recently. But this disastrous clip is from 2019, when there was simply no excuse for the prime minister to not know how much this most basic snack costs. And he absolutely didn’t know, eventually giving up. His final guess was nearly double the price of a sausage roll at the time, proving how out of touch he was. Then again, perhaps a sausage roll DOES cost £1.90 in a prestigious, Whitehall branch of Greggs. If you’ve ever purchased a sausage roll in Westminster, let us know how much it was.

#22: Return the Sausages

Another political sausage blunder, this time it was the Labour Party in the hot seat, as Keir Starmer made his big speech at the 2024 party conference. He was talking about Gaza and asked for the hostages to be released – except, he made a Freudian slip, and accidentally said “sausages” instead. Perhaps he’d skipped lunch. Whatever the reason, he tried to play it off, but was widely lampooned in the media. “Have I Got News For You” talked about the gaffe on that week’s episode, relentlessly mocking Starmer for a soundbite he’s simply never going to live down.

#21: Growing Concrete

Mike Graham looked an absolute idiot after this baffling blunder live on Talk. He got an Insulate Britain activist on the line, apparently anticipating being able to mock the group for their controversial tactics after they blocked the M25, and instead found himself arguing in favour of growing concrete. He was bickering with a carpenter, Cameron, as Graham insinuated that cutting down trees is bad for the environment – only to be met with the riposte that you can simply plant more trees and grow them again after using them. Cameron was lost for words and the link died. Did Graham hang up, or was there a technical error?

#20: Marco Pierre White Goes Shopping

There’s out of touch, and then there’s THIS. In this old segment from one of his shows, we see celebrity chef, Marco Pierre White, brave the unpredictable wilds of the common British supermarket. It’s like watching an alien skinwalker trying to convince you it's been to one before. Highlights include telling people that if you can’t smell an orange then it won't taste like orange. Shaking a man’s hand after he touched raw meat. And of course, picking up a turbot from the fish counter and putting it back again. Has this man ever shopped for his own ingredients?

#19: Jeremy Vine Reads Comments

Jeremy Vine has gotten himself a few enemies over the years. No, not for anything he’s said on the show but rather what he does off the camera. Indeed, it’s Jeremy’s many cycling videos that have ticked people off, be it from his entitled behavior or complete disregard of the highway code. As such, he’s received a multitude of mean comments on twitter and he thought the best way to air out his grievances was to read them out on his show. Yes, some of these comments go too far, but Jeremy’s pearl clutching and head teacher at a school assembly sternness made this feel more like a masterclass in how not to handle internet trolls.

#18: Paul Burrell in Danger

Known for his composed demeanor as Princess Diana’s former butler, Paul Burrell showed a surprisingly different side on “I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!” His screams and panic during the infamous trial made viewers question who the poised royal aide had now turned into. Rather than the suave, unflappable figure we remembered, Burrell came off as terrified and downright ridiculous. It’s a reminder that even dignified celebrities aren’t immune to losing their cool in the jungle.

#17: Noel Edmonds Slips Up

“Think before you speak” is a lesson Noel may have learned the hard way here. During an episode of deal or no deal, one contestant brought along with them a picture of themself in their youth. That’s when something about the picture caught Noel’s eye, and disaster struck. Though he tried to make a recovery with his response there was simply no way to make it right.

#16: Gemma Collins’ Tumble

Gemma Collins has had her fair share of reality TV highs and lows, but her spectacular fall on “Dancing on Ice” was one for the history books. Known for her larger-than-life personality, this tumble understandably made her the biggest conversation piece of the week. It quickly went viral, but it was that fact that just a week prior she had a row with judge Jason Gardiner that made this so humiliating. She may have been right to call out his alleged selling of stories, but she managed to prove his critiques about her dancing abilities to be correct.

#15: Derek Acorah Meets Kreed Kafer

You could make the argument that the late, great Derek Acorah made an arse of himself every time he channeled spirits on Most Haunted back in the day. However, at least there was the conceit that he was actually being taken over by these wicked ghosts in those instances… well that is until any reasonable doubt was erased following this little trap played by his coworkers. In order to prove he had been faking it the whole time, they made up the characters Kreed Kafer and Rik Eedles - which were ‘Derek Faker’ and ‘Derek Lies’ anagrams. Unsurprisingly, he took the bait and started pretending to channel these phoney phantoms.

#14: Donny Tourette Acts Hard

Nevermind the Buzzcocks seems to be the perfect place for musicians to ruin their image, as is evidenced by the infamous Preston walkout. While that was definitely an arse-making moment, Donny Tourrette of Towers of London fame made an even worse impression on the audience at home. While he tried to keep up his punk rock persona, Simon Amstell was having none of it and ruthlessly shattered Tourette’s ego. He never once attempted to drop the act and be himself, instead looking worse and worse as the episode went on.

#13: Gary Neville Gets Caught Out

It seems like no matter how much money celebrities have, they’ll stop at nothing to get just a little bit more. Take for example, participating in the Qatar hosted World Cup back in 2022. There was a lot of controversy surrounding this event, especially because of the country’s history with human rights issues. These concerns were highlighted on this episode of Have I Got News For You, which was hosted by Gary Neville. There’s a lot of beating around the bush, but of course Ian Hislop is not one to do that. He called out his participation directly. Neville tries to come up with a phony excuse, but Hislop is having none of it.

#12: Harry Styles Tries To Use Words

Harry Styles is undoubtedly a pop icon, but his interview about his movie, ‘Don’t Worry Darling’, left audiences scratching their heads. When asked why the film was good, Styles struggled to articulate compelling reasons, fumbling through vague and awkward answers. Chris Pine, who’s accustomed to these sorts of interviews looks almost crestfallen when Harry says his favourite thing about the movie is… that it feels like a movie. Could his PR managers really not feed him better lines than this?

#11: Michael Barrymore Does a Cover

Michael Barrymore, once Britain’s most beloved TV host, gifted us with perhaps one of his most mortifying moments by singing a cover of Coolio’s “C U When U Get There.” Rather than showcasing hidden vocal talents, Barrymore's rendition came off as painfully unconvincing and out of touch with the song’s tone. Watching a sanitary TV personality try to cross into rap territory and spectacularly blow it was both awkward and memorable. It’s the type of performance that slips quickly into the realm of cringe.

#10: James Corden Disrupts Traffic

While we often see James Corden’s upbeat “Carpool Karaoke,” there was a less charming side when he disrupted traffic in LA for a segment on his show. Rather than quietly running his skit, he and the crew blocked lanes and caused chaos for commuters, drawing public ire. The result was plenty of frustrated motorists and some lost goodwill for the late-night host. Worst of all, the image of him thrusting his hips in that costume will haunt our dreams forever.

#9: Glenn Hoddle’s Implication

Being a football manager is obviously a huge opportunity. In 1996, former midfielder Glenn Hoddle was given the prestigious role. Yet, in 1999, he destroyed everything during an interview with The Times when he defended his relationship with faith healer Eileen Drewery and his beliefs. Hoddle implied that disabled people are, quote: “being punished for sins in a former life.” He was widely condemned with the public overwhelmingly calling for his firing and, a few days later, Hoddle was sacked as England manager.

#8: Eamonn Holmes Gets Weird

A live TV slip-up from veteran presenter Eamonn Holmes saw him calling Kerry Katona "oriental," a highly inappropriate and outdated term. The awkwardness of the moment was palpable, as both Holmes and Katona stumbled to recover from the gaffe. Holmes was understandably told to say sorry for his strange remark. However, like with the instance where he said the R-Slur on live telly, he simply cannot bring himself to apologize sincerely. In Eamonn’s own eyes, he can do no wrong.

#7: Phillip Schofield Plays the Victim

Phillip Schofield, once beloved by the nation, found himself on its proverbial most hated celebs list following a number of scandals. After a brief disappearance, he popped up again and ventured into reality TV territory where he faced an island survival show. His exaggerated complaints about the conditions, paired with a dramatic flair, came off as quite embarrassing. But worst of all was how he seemingly tried to play the victim over his self imposed controversies.

It just wasn’t a good look.

#6: Piers Morgan Storms Off

The name Piers Morgan is practically synonymous with controversy, but one particularly memorable moment was when he stormed off a set of Good Morning Britain mid-discussion. Rather than debating or addressing issues calmly, he slammed the door figuratively and literally. This dramatic exit may have thrilled his detractors and supporters alike, but it certainly wasn’t a classy way to handle disagreement. It reinforced the image of Morgan as a divisive figure willing to make a scene rather than resolve matters amicably.

#5: Richard Madeley’s Doc

When it comes to real-life Alan Partridge, Richard Madeley, there’s a wealth of cringey moments you can choose from. One that always comes to mind is his hilariously awkward documentary on squatters. What was meant to be a bold plunge into gritty documentary filmmaking with his exploration of the squatter scene unfortunately ended up as far less insightful and far more toe-curling than anyone expected. Madeley’s attempts to connect with the squatters felt painfully forced, as if he were a baffled tourist trying desperately to understand a foreign culture. His frequent over-explanations and clumsy asides made it clear he was out of his depth—and not in a charming way.

#4: Kelly Osbourne Ruins Her Image

Back in August of 2015, TV personality Kelly Osbourne was guest-starring on The View, with the topic of the day being US immigration policies. It was then that Osbourne made one of the most openly racist remarks ever heard on live TV. The comment was immediately met with backlash, with Osbourne's co-hosts reacting in shock and disbelief. Osbourne thought she cooked with this one, but she immediately started backpedaling after witnessing the horrified reactions, which only added to the unbearable embarrassment. She later told Rolling Stone that this was the most cringe moment of [her] entire life. Fair enough.

#3: Alex Turner’s Award Acceptance

Arctic Monkeys have definitely earned their position in the music industry over the years but no one should really have the ego to attempt a speech like this. In one of the hardest to sit through award acceptance speeches of all time, Alex Turner goes on about how Rock n’ Roll isn’t dead. Is he saying it off the top of his head? We certainly wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case because this straight up sucked. Zero percent cool, 100 percent cringe.

#2: George Galloway The Cat

How to destroy your credibility 101. Let’s face it, barely anyone walks out of celebrity big brother looking better than they did before - but near the bottom has to be this politician’s image tarnishing performance. One challenge given by the producers saw Rula Lenska and George Galloway play the roles of pet owner and pet cat. Yes, that means we saw him purr like a kitty on national television. The whole time it was clear he was making an arse of himself more than winning hearts.

#1: Katie Hopkins on Children’s Names

Yes, we’ve seen this clip a trillion times already but let’s be honest… it doesn’t get old. In what has to be one of the greatest moments of televised hypocrisy, Katie Hopkins came onto This Morning to discuss how she wouldn’t let her children play with ones who have certain names. Including geographical locations, as she deems them to be lower class. Somehow, someway, she forgot the fact that her own daughter is named India.

Which cringey celeb moments did we miss? Let us know in the comments below!

<T>Some visuals provided by Getty Images</T>

</CRD>