‘It should be left in the 70s’: Journalist calls Rear Of The Year award ‘grubby’ and ‘past its sell-by date’ – but GMB host Jeremy Kyle says it’s just ‘innocent fun’
- Journalist Eleanor Mills called the Rear of the Year awards ‘past their sell-by date’
- She said the awards are ‘grubby’, ‘superficial’ and should be ‘left in the 70s’
- Stand-in Good Morning Britain host Jeremy Kyle called them innocent fun’
- Said there was ‘no right answer’ but same ‘some people want everything banned’
A journalist has called for an end to the annual best bottom competition Rear Of The Year – calling it ‘superficial’ and ‘grubby’.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Eleanor Mills, who is Editorial Director of The Sunday Times, argued the award should be ‘left in the Seventies’ as it judges people based solely on their appearances.
This year’s competition was won by Michelle Keegan and Poldark star Aidan Turner in the men’s category.
Stand-in GMB host Jeremy Kyle called the awards ‘innocent fun’, and said ‘some people want everything banned’.
Eleanor Mills, who is Editorial Director of The Sunday Times, called for an end to the Rear of the Year awards, calling them ‘superficial’ and ‘grubby’. Pictured on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday
Stand-in GMB host Jeremy Kyle called the awards ‘innocent fun’ but said there was ‘no right or wrong answer’. Pictured on the show today with co-host Kate Garraway
Ms Mills called for the awards to be replaced with prizes for ‘brain of the year’ or ‘personality of the year’.
She said: ‘I think it should be left in the Seventies. I was talking to my 13-year-old daughter last night about it and she was like ”What they give people prizes for their bottoms? What’s going on?”
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‘In 2018 those kind of Seventies, slightly grubby awards are past their sell-by date. I don’t think we should be objectifying women.’
She continued: ‘It is superficial and for millennia women have been judged on their appearances, on their bodies, rather than their character, their brains or achievements.’
Viewers disagreed with Eleanor Mills’s comments that she made on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, taking to Twitter (pictured) to say the awards are ‘just a bit of fun’
Kyle said there was ‘no right or wrong answer’ to the debate, but said the awards were ‘innocent fun’.
‘You’re not allowed, seemingly in the United Kingdom anymore, to have a bit of innocent fun,’ he said.
He added: ‘I think the beauty of the conversation about this is there’s no right or wrong answer. I think you make a very good point, you have to acknowledge it’s a different world but there are, just to finish, people who want everything banned. ‘
Journalist Rebecca Reid agreed, saying there was nothing wrong with being beautiful.
Ms Mills, right, said the awards are ‘past their sell by date’ because they judge people based solely on their appearances. Pictured on GMB with fellow guest Rebecca Reid, left
Ms Reid, a journalist, (pictured) told Good Morning Britain on Wednesday that there was nothing wrong with making money by having a nice figure
She said: ‘I don’t see why my very expensive time consuming degree is more impressive than somebody else’s very expensive time consuming body.
‘I make money by having a big mouth, other people make money by having a great bum; I don’t understand why one of those is more valid and one is less valid.’
Viewers took to Twitter to criticise Ms Mills’s arguments, calling the awards ‘a bit of fun’.
One tweeted: ‘As @PiersMorgan would say.., the worlds gone mad! There is nothing wrong with this kind of thing and as she say it certainly has nothing to do with #metoo.’
The female recipient of this year’s Rear of the Year was actress Michelle Keegan (pictured on the red carpet in Manchester with husband Mark Wright)
‘It’s just a bit of fun for God’s sake,’ another posted.
A third said: ‘The world is losing its sense of fun. If I won that title I’d be really happy as I work hard on my bum and it doesn’t take away anything from what I’ve achieved in other aspects. As Jeremy said, there’s people out there that seem to want to ban everything.’
The very first Rear of the Year’ award was presented in 1976 to actress Barbara Windsor but it wasn’t until Felicity Kendal’s win in 1981 that it became an annual event with a presentation.
Rock singer Suzi Quatro won the award in 1982 and three singers followed her to win the title – Lulu in 1983, Elaine Paige in 1984 and Lynsey de Paul in 1985.
Aidan Turner, who plays Ross Poldark in BBC’s Poldark, won the male award this year. Pictured: On set in Cornwall on the drama series
The first male celebrity to win was Michael Barrymore 1986 along with female winner Anneka Rice.
The first Royal to win was Marina Ogilvy, the daughter of Princess Alexandra, who walked away with the title in 1990
Following a two year’s break in the presentations and a major change of format, Ulrika Jonsson’s rear asset took the title in 1992, followed by actress Sarah Lancashire in 1993.
Mandy Smith and Richard Fairbrass were joint winners in 1994, after which the competition switched to a mid Summer format in 1996 with actress Tracy Shaw receiving the public vote.
Since 1997, the Rear of the Year award has been presented annually to both a male and female celebrity.
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