Celebs Go Dating expert fires back at 'horrible' Stephen Webb backlash
Celebs Go Dating expert Anna Williamson has defended Stephen Webb, telling Yahoo UK that he doesn't deserve the "horrible headlines" and backlash from viewers.
The Gogglebox star signed up to Celebs Go Dating after his six-year marriage to Daniel Lustig crumbled this year. Channel 4's social account 4Viewers said Webb "got the worst feedback in the history of Celebs Go Dating" as uncomfortable scenes showed one of his dates Dean called the star's behaviour on dates "totally inappropriate". Quickly the scenes became a huge talking point of Celebs Go Dating so far and provoked a backlash from viewers as well as news headlines.
Williamson told Yahoo: "I adore Stephen and actually I really haven't enjoyed seeing a lot of the negative feedback that Stephen's been getting. That could not be further away from the man that I know and I'm really looking forward to everyone seeing Stephen's progression. I love him and he doesn't deserve some of the horrible headlines because he's a very, very lovely man."
Celebs Go Dating's Stephen Webb doesn't deserve backlash
In our exclusive chat, the Celebs Go Dating agent spoke highly of Webb saying the TV star was a "very, very lovely man". Williamson said the Gogglebox personality learns the biggest lesson in love on Celebs Go Dating 2024 and she urged viewers to hold fire on their opinions until they have watched the whole series.
She said: "With Stephen, we've seen somebody that just wasn't aware of how they were coming across on dates, and I can't spoil it. But please, I want everyone to just hold all judgement of Stephen and stick with him through to the end of this process.
"Because if somebody gets an award for taking on board feedback and executing it, it's Stephen. I think it has been the biggest lesson in love and that's why I want viewers to be kind. The point of Celebs Go Dating is that in the early stages, in particular, we see them making mistakes.
"But they're making the mistakes that so many people make and I think we need to be a bit kinder to the judgment we give up celebrities and someone like Stephen. Yeah, it's been hard for me to see him get some backlash because he doesn't deserve it. He's a wonderful guy, and the proof is in the pudding at the end of this series."
The truth can hurt
As a dating expert on and off the E4 show, Williamson said giving feedback is "always challenging" and that often "the truth can hurt".
"As coaches, we're very used to dealing out and dishing out hard truths an reflections," she said. "That's what we do. We are trained to reflect back what we see and what we hear and then give our critiques on that."
She added: "We never, ever want to upset anybody or hurt anybody. But as we all know, sometimes the truth can hurt. Our celebrities have an opportunity to either listen to what we have to say and be curious about it or to refute it entirely.
"But it's never nice when you feel somebody has become emotional as a response to the feedback that we might give. It always come from a place of love. We don't do this show just to make friends. We do this show because we want to help people be better. The truth can hurt."
There are a lot of pressures
Being a dating expert on one of the most popular dating shows in the UK, which Williamson says is the "best job in the world", comes with its own set of unique pressures. She works on the Celebs Go Dating panel alongside Paul Carrick Brunson, who also stars on Married At First Sight, and Dr Tara Suwinyattichaiporn. This year marks her 10th series of Celebs Go Dating but Williamson still feels the pressure to get it right.
She said: "There are a lot of pressures actually because we're the real deal. This is the work we do outside of the telly show... The pressures that I feel, we feel, is getting that truth out of the celebrities but doing it in a way where they are trusting is how we are going to take that information and how we're going to use it to help them.
Read more: TV host Anna Williamson says traumatic birth 'was like living in hell'
"The pressures come from getting it right. We want to get it right for the celeb. We wanna get it right for the viewer. We wanna get it right for ourselves. But we also at all times wanna make sure that we're here to help lives, not ruin them."
Celebs Go Dating isn't staged
Another big talking point that has emerged from the 2024 series is singleton Helen Flanagan's secret boyfriend Robbie Talbot who is then introduced on the show. It sparked some chatter about the show being staged but Celebs Go Dating agent Williamson told Yahoo: "The show isn't staged."
The agent lifted the lid on what goes on behind the scenes of the show to bring it to our screens. She said: "I've only just been aware, actually, that the Helen things come out. The show isn’t staged in any way other than obviously, we have to set up dates. So we have to obviously contact a restaurant and say, 'Hello, can we film in your restaurant?' You can’t just turn up with a casual cameraman. And they're staged in the sense that we have to set up a date for it to actually happen but none of the content is staged and I think that's really important."
Read more: Helen Flanagan's new man? (Bang Showbiz, 2-min read)
When it came to Flanagan's reveal, the dating expert dropped the bombshell saying it was an "enormous shock" to everyone filming. She said: "The revelation with Helen, none of that was staged. None of that was staged by her or staged by production. The minute the revelation came out, it was an enormous shock. All the time as you've seen in series, people get together when they shouldn't have done. We just go with the flow."
As they would with any of the stars, the dating experts gave Flanagan the opportunity to explain her situation. Williamson explained further: "To be really clear, none of us knew about her situation until it came out and that is the god's honest truth. It was one of the biggest shocks of the series!"
Having worked in TV for 25 years, Williamson is no stranger to things changing on screen. "There are so many moving parts," she said. The dating experts said the panel, the celebrities and the dates can be "unpredictable" when it comes to filming the hit series.
She said: "We think on our feet and and this series is no different but I want to make it really clear because I have seen some of the headlines. We don't set the scenes up and the storylines before we start filming. What you see on the telly is literally what is happening in real life and we just react to it."
Behind the scenes support for Celebs Go Dating stars
On and off screen, it's no secret that the Celebs Go Dating experts are there for the stars taking part. Earlier this year, Ella Morgan admitted she nearly quit the process because of a "triggering" event at a brunch. Behind the scenes, Willliamson delved into how the dating panel are a huge support network to the stars on the show and what the encouraging words they give to them.
She said: "We're always there for them to check in with. We check in with them on screen but we check in with them off screen and we've been doing this such a long, long a** time. We do tell them when we start, 'There's gonna be some bumps in the road and we ask you to stick with us, stick with the process, trust us.'
"We have to earn their trust. They have to earn our trust. It's a very normal part of the process when things get a bit difficult and like we always say, 'That's when you know someone's at that inflexion point for change because they're starting to recognise the areas that need some work on or their pain points.'
"So we always encourage them. We always double down on checking in on them offering them support, which they get plenty of support from us as the agents but also the duty of care team on the show. We just reassure them that there is method in our madness, you will come out of this process a better person and I'm proud to say it: we've gone and done it again. They've all exited this process much healthier and happier individuals in and out of relationships."
Celebs Go Dating airs Monday - Thursday at 9pm on E4.
