Amanda Holden, 53, and Alan Carr, 48, have been met with floods of complaints from ITV viewers after they opened Sunday evening’s Royal Variety Performance.
Recorded last month, ITV aired the annual bash as King Charles III attended solo due to the Queen being ill at the time of filming.
On the agenda for the evening were performances from Starlight Express, Sydnie Christmas, James Bay, Stephen Mulhern, and many other big-name acts.
Hosting the event at the Royal Albert Hall was Carr and Holden and it was left to them to introduce each act as the evening progressed.
Kicking off the show, however, the pair had a chance for a bit of riffing to get the crowd warmed up and the laughter going.
Within moments, Carr joked Holden looked like his “carer” before his co-star quipped back they looked like a “disappointing Love Island couple”.
ITV Royal Variety Performance: Alan Carr and Amanda Holden have come under fire
ITV
Carr then praised Holden’s dress for the evening, branding it “absolutely fabulous” while the crowd cheered.
Poking fun at Holden’s reputation for risque numbers when appearing on TV, Carr went on to joke it was “just on the right side of an Ofcom complaint”.
As their opening gambit continued, Carr joked about using Holden as a “human shield” if Just Stop Oil stormed the stage, which led to the BGT judge joking she’d be less orange if covered in the group’s signature coloured chalk.
There was also banter about “box-ticking” as Carr is gay and Holden is a woman, although the 53-year-old joked she ticked boxes as she was also old in an act of self-deprecation.
ITV Royal Variety Performance: King Charles watched on from the crowd
ITV
Soon after, they moved on with the rest of the show and welcomed the first act as performers from Starlight Express skated onto the stage.
But despite there being so much of the show still to go, some ITV viewers had had enough of the pair’s opening act and took to social media to slam the jokes as “painful”.
“#RoyalVarietyPerformance what an embarrassing and awful start,” one viewers blasted on X before a second echoed: “Well, Alan Carr and Amanda Holden are absolutely dreadful. This opening is so awkward. #RoyalVarietyPerformance.”
Meanwhile, a third questioned: “We have hit rock bottom I see @ITV with the #RoyalVarietyPerformance Carr and Holden??? Just not funny. Why are they presenting.”
“#RoyalVarietyPerformance Holden and Carr. How painful is this?” a fourth queried and a fifth concurred: “Dying on their a***s here… #RoyalVarietyPerformance.”
Elsewhere, a sixth complained: “Who thought Amanda Holden was a good idea #royalvarietyperformance.”
It wasn’t all bad for Holden and Carr, however, as some ITV viewers were keen to defend the duo amid the outpouring of criticism.
One X user argued: “Whoever’s producing / writing this #RoyalVarietyPerformance has done a great job already. @AmandaHolden and #AlanCarr brilliant opening skit.”
And a second hit back directly: “#RoyalVarietyPerformance People either need to stop complaining or change channels you sad individuals.”