Jeremy Vine sparked a furious backlash after his April Fool’s prank left unamused fans calling the police and RSPB [Royal Society for the Protection of Birds].
The Channel 5 presenter, 58, frequently shares his love of cycling on his social media and decided to seemingly share footage of his drone appearing to be attacked by a bird as he enjoyed his bike ride to mark on Monday.
However, rather than leaving his followers laughing along with the joke, he received a flurry of angry responses and was even reported to authorities.
Posting the clip on X, formerly Twitter, Vine penned: “WHAT THE HELL — using a drone for today's early cycle ride, and it got taken out by a hawk or red kite in HYDE PARK FFS. Smashed to bits, £400 gone in a second.”
It turns out the host had faked the video using a snap of a hawk, but he has been reported to the Met Police, the RSPB, the Civil Aviation Authority and The Royal Parks.
On his self-titled Jeremy Vine Show, the presenter shared a message addressing the fury as Rob Rinder stepped in as host on Tuesday.
Channel 5 host Jeremy Vine faced a furious backlash
Channel 5
Vine had sent in a video message to talk about the awkward prank. He explained: “Well, that was a funny old day yesterday.
“I had some footage of me with this camera basically on a long pole, it’s a 360-degree camera so it’s a long way up, it's not on a drone.
"And I thought, well, why don’t I say it’s on a drone and then say, ‘I've been hit by a bird.’
“And I found a photo of a bird online and it was the most rubbish animation. I thought if I make the bird move really fast, people are going to think it has hit a drone.”
Vine shared a video to explain the prank
Channel 5
He continued: "I never expected three million views. And then there was all the anger, particularly seems to be a lot of anger among people who've got flags in their profile.
“So, by the end of the day, I was just cowering. I'd been reported to the Met, The Royal Parks, the Civil Aviation Authority, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. No birds were hurt.
“There was no drone. And as for me and April Fool’s, I'm out.”
Immediately after Vine shared the post, unhappy viewers were quick to share their outrage, with one writing: “Never mind your bl**** drone what about the bird?”
“I thought it was against the law to use drones in public spaces. That's why they sent the hawk,” another penned.
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Jeremy posted a clip on April Fool's Day which didn't go down well with viewers
Channel 5
“I hope the hawk wasn’t hurt,” another concerned X user shared.
“It's fantastic having a bird of prey above Hyde Park and shocking not to appreciate that! We're destroying or interfering with the living spaces of so many species: let's be apologetic, not furious! Jeremy Vine can afford £400 - and is a drone essential?” another fumed.
Someone else shared the tweet and added: “Jeremy vine maliciously kills a bird and blames the bird for its death.”
However, others applauded Vine on the joke, with one commenting: “I knew it was an April fools joke straightaway & replied to Jeremy to tell him so. I find it incredible that these other people thought it was real & was reporting Jeremy! I think these people that reported JV must Not have a sense of Humor & have sense humor bypass. Well Done JV.” (sic)
