Paddy McGuinness responds to claims he swore in TV advert

Paddy McGuinness has been forced to shut down claims he was swearing in his latest advert for travel company On the Beach.

The Take Me Out presenter cleared the confusion up in a post on Instagram after viewers thought he was saying “f***ing geniuses” in the TV advert.

"Now, a lot of people have been getting in touch with me on social media, saying, ‘We’ve seen your adverts with On the Beach. Are you swearing?’” he said.

The Top Gear star added: "Just to clear this up, it’s ‘booking geniuses’. Booking. Not ‘f-ing geniuses’.

"As in, ‘Booking geniuses. Book with On the Beach, and you get free lounge access and all the perks’. That’s the whole idea! Not ‘f-ing’ geniuses — you can’t say ‘f-ing geniuses’ on the telly. Now book off and enjoy your Sunday.”

Fans were quick to comment on the post while sharing a laugh with the presenter and comedian.

“It’s pure genius as an ad,” one wrote, while another added: “It’s a brilliant ad it makes people watch it more. Well done.”

Last month, the former Top Gear host announced his first major UK stand-up tour since 2016. The long-awaited return to comedy will see the star perform 40 dates across the UK in 2024 and 2025.

The tour is set to start in Blackburn and will include nights at The Lowry in Salford as well as London’s Palladium.

McGuinness said: “It’s been eight years since my last tour and there’s lots of things to laugh about! I’m looking forward to getting back in front of a live audience, along with running the gauntlet of cancel culture, click bait and fake news!

The TV personality first started his career in comedy, but in recent years has been busy with a host of TV shows.

In 2019, McGuinness joined the Top Gear crew with Chris Harris and Freddie Flintoff but in November of last year, the BBC announced that it was putting the show on an indefinite hiatus. The decision was made after Flintoff was involved in an on-set accident while filming for the 34th series of the show.

In a statement, the broadcaster said: "Given the exceptional circumstances, the BBC has decided to rest the UK show for the foreseeable future.

"The BBC remains committed to Freddie, Chris and Paddy, who have been at the heart of the show’s renaissance since 2019, and we’re excited about new projects being developed with each of them.

“We will have more to say in the near future on this. We know resting the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it is the right thing to do."

McGuinness took to Instagram at the time to thank fans of the show, adding: "We were always going to be bellends but we were your bellends. Thanks for all the love over the years folks, it was very much appreciated."