Skip to content
Bramble

Entertainment

Ex-Strictly pro AJ Pritchard hosts GB News segment on shoplifting, drawing online criticism

Former Strictly Come Dancing professional AJ Pritchard, 31, presented a shoplifting segment on GB News's The Saturday Five on 3 October. Some social media users criticised it, while others praised it.

2 outlets · 1L · 1C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: The Independent
Image: Evening Standard

1 / 2

The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2Former Strictly Come Dancing professional AJ Pritchard, 31, made his presenting debut on GB News on Saturday 3 October, hosting a segment on the channel's The Saturday Five. Centre · 1The segment was about shoplifting and petty crime. Pritchard said: "This country has petty crime and it's starting to feel way too normal." Left · 1He described people walking into shops, taking items such as a meal deal and leaving without being stopped, and argued that thousands of such incidents every day mean it is "not so petty at all".

Centre · 1According to the Evening Standard, he cited police figures showing more than 507,000 shoplifting offences recorded in England and Wales over the past year, and the segment cut to footage of Conservative MP Robert Jenrick confronting suspected shoplifters. Mixed · 2A clip spread on X, where some viewers criticised his presenting and his move to the channel, with one comparing it unfavourably to his acting in Hollyoaks. Mixed · 2The Independent also quoted comments such as "Talk about a downward spiral" and described GB News as a "controversial news channel". The Standard noted that some users praised him, one saying he "did such a great job".

Mixed · 2The move follows his return from the US, where he finished runner-up to Adele Zaikman on Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro, which offered a professional dancer place on the American show. Left · 1The Independent reports that, during The Next Pro, he irked former Strictly colleagues by saying the BBC show needed more British dancers; Oti Mabuse said he "might have rubbed a lot of people the wrong way", and Karen Hauer called the remark "a little bit low". Mixed · 2The outlets differ on his Strictly tenure: the Independent says he was a professional from 2016 to 2019, when he left to pursue presenting with his brother Curtis, while the Standard says 2016 to 2021. The Standard said it had approached Pritchard for comment.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left1 outlet

Framing
Frames the debut as provoking backlash, calling GB News 'controversial' and setting it against Pritchard's earlier remarks that upset ex-Strictly colleagues.
Emphasis
Fan criticism and criticism from former Strictly colleagues Oti Mabuse and Karen Hauer.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention the 507,000 offence figure, the Jenrick footage or any praise for Pritchard.
Charged language
“controversial news channel”“downward spiral”
For example
“Both Pritchard’s presenting style and the fact he’s accepted a role on the controversial news channel have been criticised by fans” — The Independent

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Reports the debut and backlash with more detail on the segment's content, and notes mixed reactions on X.
Emphasis
The segment's content, police statistics, Jenrick footage and both critical and favourable reactions.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention Pritchard's remarks on British dancers or the comments by Mabuse and Hauer, and does not describe GB News as controversial.
Charged language
“sparks backlash”
For example
“Some, however, praised Pritchard, including one user who said: “AJ Pritchard did such a great job on GB News today!”” — Evening Standard

Right0 outlets

No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.