Warwick Rowers appear on Loose Women

The Warwick Rowers made their TV debut this afternoon on ITV daytime show Loose Women, appearing as the “treat” behind today’s door of its ‘advent calendar’, a feature running on the show throughout December.

The rowers were interviewed by Christine Bleakley about their annual charity calendar, focusing on how its popularity has grown thanks to the support they have received from the gay community and on the success of their charity Sport Allies. One of the rowers stated: “It’s great to spread that message of inclusion”.

Being the best version of yourself starts with being yourself

They appeared to prove popular with the presenters, with Christine Bleakley describing them as “the gift that keeps on giving” and Gloria Hunniford asking: “Shall we keep them?”

This year has seen the launch of the Warwick Rowers’ ninth men’s calendar, with ‘being the best version of yourself starts with being yourself’ being the theme.

The first Warwick Rowers calendar was released in 2009 and proved so successful that the club was able to establish its own charity, Sport Allies, which aims to encourage inclusion and remove homophobia within sport.

Loose Women also praised the rowers on its Twitter account: “Thanks for doing such a great job spreading the message of inclusive and respectful attitudes towards people of all genders and sexualities”.

Spreading the message of inclusive and respectful attitudes towards people of all genders and sexualities

However, the appearance caused controversy on Twitter, with some viewers criticising the way in which the rowers appeared in hotpants and Santa hats. For example, one viewer wrote: “If the show was called Loose Men and they brought out a load of ladies in bikinis with wolf whistling etc there would be outrage”.

Other viewers welcomed the appearance, with one commenting: “Oh hello, Warwick Rowers.”