ITV forced to apologise after begging small business | UK News

ITV has been forced to issue an apology after begging a small bakery business to provide free food for its singing competitors show The Voice. Get Baked UK, owned by Rich Myers, is a British company recognized for its spectacular truffles – but its founder has been forced to hit back after being requested for free merchandise.

Rich shared an e mail to his Instagram account from the producers at ITV, which said: “I’m working on ITV’s The Voice this year. We have a very high calibre of talent lined up for the show, along with our celebrity coaches who are soon to be revealed. We start filming in a couple of months, and we are looking for amazing products to boost their long working days!

“I wanted to reach out to you and ask if there would be anything you could help us with in terms of products for our talent dressing rooms and green rooms. We’d love to open up the discussion and see if you’d be up for supplying your amazing products!

“Unfortunately, we at ITV are unable to offer anything monetary or otherwise in return for your products, but if you did agree to provide us with your products, it would have exposure to our highly influential coaches and presenters in the studios, as well as our contestants on the show, all of whom are incredibly talented.

“Thank you for taking the time to read this request and please do get in touch if this is an opportunity you might be interested in.”

The e mail was signed off from “The Voice Team”, and Rich admitted that at first he thought it was a “wind up”, before realising it was “totally real”.

He wrote: “ITV and Lifted Entertainment, you’re a total disgrace. Honestly, how did we get here? Stop whatever this is because I wanna get off.”

Celebs including Ulrika Jonsson rushed to remark on the letter, with Ulrika fuming: “I honestly thought this was a joke… the audacity is insane.” Laila Rouass added: “This is cringe!”

After the post went viral, ITV despatched a follow-up letter apologising, which Rich also shared to his social media. It read: “We wanted to reach out to apologise for any upset caused by our email

“This was not in line with our usual ways of working, nor does it reflect the standards we expect of ourselves. We’re truly sorry to have caused offence.

“Immediate steps have been taken to ensure this type of request is never made again. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and once again, please accept our sincere apologies.”

Rich said: “You know what, all jokes aside — if ITV stay true to their word here, and this whole thing actually results in the end of them asking for freebies from independents, then it’s a f***ing massive win.

“Time will tell. If you own an independent business, and ITV do happen to come knocking, please be sure to let me know.

“I feel like I’m the new presenter for WatchDog or whatever it’s called. Maybe I’m on about Crime Watch? Either way, I’m here for you.”

A spokesperson for Lifted Entertainment said: “We apologise for any upset this has caused and are reaching out to Rich Myers directly. Immediate steps have been taken to ensure this type of request is never made again.”