Right or wrong, words can hurt

All too often, especially in the media, people do and say things without thinking about the effect of their words. That was certainly the case with LBC radio host Steve Allen, who said some truly nasty and hurtful things about Tilly Ramsay. The 19-year-old daughter of TV chef Gordon is competing in Strictly Come Dancing, which prompted Allen to comment live on his show: “She’s a chubby little thing, isn’t she? Have you noticed? Probably her dad’s cooking, I should imagine.”

He should be utterly ashamed of himself. The incident reminded me of a time, some years ago, when Boris Becker made a comment about me in the news after Andy lost in the final of the Australian Open.

He said something to the effect of: “Andy Murray needs to ditch his mother because he’ll never win a Slam while tied to her apron strings.” Those words were on every newspaper stand when we got home.

I remember popping out to get some milk and saw the headline on a billboard outside a newsagent, so I got back in my car and drove home. I didn’t leave the house for three days as I was so embarrassed.

When I met Boris for the first time a few years later, I made a point of calling him out. He had no idea his words could be so damaging. You have to have a thick skin when you are in the public eye, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t stop to consider how throw-away comments can take a huge emotional toll.

Strictly’s Tilly Ramsay