Controversy As This Morning Makes ‘Energy Bills’ A Prize On Spin To Win

Dystopian behaviour or a lifeline for some?

This Morning Spin To Win

by Rhiannon Evans |
Published on

It's a busy enough news day, what with a new Prime Minister, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry back in the country - and Edwina Currie making Martin Lewis hold his head in his hands on live TV.

But there was room on social media for another controversy as This Morning added 'Energy Bills' to their prize wheel on their popular competition Spin To Win.

As presenter Phillip Schofield explained, as well as vying for up to £3,000, players might now land on 'Energy Bills' and the show will pay four months of your bills.

You can imagine how the idea came about - energy bills have been all anyone has wanted to talk about recently, and given the state of our energy 'cap', four months bills could add up to quite a big sum of money.

But social media have reacted strongly to the idea, with some calling it 'dystopian' and 'tone deaf'.

Some people have even @-ed in Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker to ask if he might include such a storyline, or likened it to The Hunger Games.

Other users have pointed out that, in all honesty, it's probably a pretty good prize for a lot of people. As the caller said when asked about his energy bills, 'I've got one of these pre-payment meters and it's absolute murder'. 'Oh God,' said presenter Holly Willoughby.

The contestant did in the end win his energy bill, saying 'Oh my God, thank you... Oh fantastic... Oh what a relief, thank you so much'.

Perhaps we should be blaming bigger powers than ITV when it comes to the state of power bills in the UK (as many users mentioned) and take the prize as how it was intended - probably a bit of a lifeline for some people.

And while ITV charges to enter many of its competitions, you can enter Spin To Win free, by using the ITV This Morning app.

Thing is, when all jokes are put aside, it feels very unfunny. Especially because, as one person put it, 'British Gas just won £4000.'

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