Richard Madeley dubs Oxford students ‘thick’ amid Queen portrait row

Presenter produced a £10 note and began wagging it at the camera in bizarre rant

Richard Madeley has branded Oxford students who voted to remove a portrait of the Queen from a common room as “thick”.

On Tuesday (8 June), Oxford University’s Magdalen College confirmed that post-graduate students had voted to take down the portrait, which had been on display since 2013.

Minutes from the meeting discussing the matter suggested that some students believed symbols of the monarchy “represent recent colonial history”.

Madeley, who has been presenting ITV’s Good Morning Britain in recent weeks, mocked the decision on Wednesday morning’s show (9 June).

As Madeley’s co-host Susanna Reid suggested that the Queen had been “cancelled”, Madeley produced a £10 note and waved it at the camera.

“If you’re watching at Magdalen – and you won’t be as you won’t be awake until nine or 10 – but assuming that you are, would you rip this up?” Madeley asked. “It’s got a picture of the Queen on it. Bit of colonial culture going on there. So would you stop using cash?”

Madeley added: “Actually, I can’t help think this is a wind-up because it’s so stupid. It’s really thick.”

The decision at Magdalen College was dubbed “simply absurd” by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson on Twitter, who used the platform to describe the Queen as “a symbol of what is best about the UK”.

Richard Madeley holds aloft a £10 note in rant about portrait of the Queen on ‘Good Morning Britain' (ITV)

Williamson’s tweet was swiftly followed up by a statement from Dinah Rose, the president of Magdalen College, who clarified the matter. She tweeted that the decision was reached after a vote and that Magdalen “supports free speech and political debate”.

Rose added: “Maybe they’ll vote to put it up again, maybe they won’t. Meanwhile, the photo will be safely stored. Being a student is about more than studying. It’s about exploring and debating ideas. It’s sometimes about provoking the older generation. Looks like that isn’t so hard to do these days.”

Madeley’s recent run on Good Morning Britain has already been beset by gaffes, among them a misfiring joke about Cat Deeley being “an awful presenter”.

Viewers have also remarked that Madeley’s GMB appearances only reinforce long-standing comparisons between him and Alan Partridge.