GB News is still getting trolled by fake names after telling pranksters to ‘grow up’

Poor GB News. It’s been relentless for them, it really has.

A couple of days ago, they noticed they were being pranked by people sending emails in pretending to be called Hugh Janus or Mike Oxlong. It’s the old ones that are the best, after all, and who wouldn’t laugh at the prospect of a Very Serious Broadcaster making an idiot of themselves on live TV?

Simon McCoy and Alexandra Phillips, that’s who. Yesterday, after they cottoned on to the pranks, they told their viewers to “grow up” and have said they will no longer be reading out people’s surnames, just in case they are duped again. A pity.

McCoy said: “Grow up. We’re a new company, we’re a new broadcaster, there are systems that we are putting in to stop idiots that would stop idiots like you from getting through. They’re getting through at the moment but, please, we’ve got other things to worry about.”

And now, it seems the systems that they are putting in are very much still in beta mode, as Michelle Dewberry didn’t quite clock that Cleo Torez might not be a real name (Read it in your head if you are confused).

Dewberry said: “Tess in Stoke on Trent says ‘thank you for talking about weddings, please will you send your best wishes to my new daughter in law Cleo Torez who is getting married to my son this weekend. We are so excited”.

We bet you are, Tess. Once again, people on Twitter loved it:

And someone even dug out the original email that was sent in to Dewberry, revealing Tess claimed her surname was Tegel...

GB News launched last week to promote ‘British’ values, shun ‘woke culture’ and broadcast news that the ‘mainstream media’ does not. So far they have discussed coronavirus, taking the knee and have platformed people like Nigel Farage and Laurence Fox. We hadn’t heard of any of these topics or people so thanks, GB News.

And the pranks have not been the only thorn in the side for the channel which has been affected by technical difficulties and advertising boycotts, not to mention Ofcom complaints after presenter Dan Wootton claimed the government was running a Covid “scare campaign”.

Ah, Tess Tegel and Cleo Torez. It is not how they intended to do so, but GB News is really showcasing the best of Britain.