during his tenure at GMTV. Controversies In November 2009, Jon Culshaw appeared as Holmes on The Impressions Show in a series of three comedy sketches in which he was portrayed as having an appetite so uncontrollable that he eats a sofa, flowers and even a guest (Frankie Dettori), using the catchphrase 'I was fierce hungry, so I was'. Although Holmes had interviewed Culshaw and his co-star Debra Stephenson on This Morning to promote the show, after the programme aired the presenter instructed his lawyers to send a letter of complaint to the BBC. The letter resulted in an apology from the BBC along with a withdrawal of any future comedy sketches featuring Holmes. Both the complaint itself and the outcome of Holmes's legal action drew generally unfavourable criticism from media observers and online commentators. While presenting This Morning in October 2011, Holmes described singer Jonathan Wilkes as "retarded" on air. He later apologised after complaints and calls for him to be sacked. Holmes said: "I have to say sorry to three or four of you who are upset because I used the word retarded. You seem to have taken it personally or think I am being insulting. I would never want to do that. There is this man who has an autistic child and said I insulted his child. I would never use it in that context. Sorry if that caused you offence". In October 2011, Holmes provoked criticism by suggesting that a rape victim should take taxis in future, leading to accusations of victim blaming. A spokeswoman for ITV said: "Eamonn was in no way suggesting that the victim was in any way to blame for this horrific attack. His interview was carried out with the utmost care and compassion and his comments were intended to highlight safety advice." On 12 May 2016, Holmes provoked criticism by comparing an attack by West Ham fans to the Hillsborough disaster. He later issued an apology and said that there was "no comparison" between the events at West Ham and Hillsborough. In January 2020, Holmes was criticised after making remarks about Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle. One viewer complained to Ofcom that his description of Meghan Markle as "uppity" was a racist term to describe her. In a subsequent interview on talkRADIO, Holmes called her "awful, woke, weak, manipulative, spoilt and irritating" and said he did not think he would like her,