05 August 2023 , 14:18
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Ulrika Jonsson has criticised Catherine Tyldesley amid the backlash she faces for requesting free cakes from a small bakery and offering them social media exposure in exchange.
The Coronation Street star, 39, made headlines this week after it was revealed a party planner had sent a request to a local bakery for free cakes in exchange for social media exposure on behalf of one of their clients. TV presenter Ulrika has slammed the actress and branded her "cheeky and cocky" for expecting free products from a small business as she weighed in on the controversy.
Following the emergence of 'cake gate', Catherine has since responded in a video to suggest she did not know the emails were being sent. In the video, Catherine told: "Cake gate, what! So I have no idea those emails were being sent. I'm not working with the lovely OK! Magazine on anything that I'm aware of and NVRLAND are an amazing company. They've supplied me with performers in the past. They're insane and they've been completely misrepresented in this matter. Utterly bizarre. Don't really know what to say. I mean I hope the cake lady got the exposure she was craving."
Catherine Tyldesley is at the centre of the cake gate scandal (WireImage)
Ulrika Jonsson has hit out at Catherine Tyldesley (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)Speaking on the issue in her column for The Sun, she said: 'It's cheeky, cocky and often with an utter disrespect for the businesses trying to stay afloat. It's the asking that makes me so uncomfortable. I'm happy to stand corrected, but I don't believe in the 35 years of relative fame I've enjoyed that I have ever asked for a freebie.
"You could argue that if you don't ask, you don't get. But when I think of the incredibly tough time small businesses have had, it blows my mind how thoughtless you would be to expect them to give anything away." She added: 'Besides, if you can afford a party planner, you can surely afford a couple of cakes?'
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Earlier this week, former Coronation Street actress Catherine Tyldesley hit out at the baker who shared her response after the incident was made public as they accused her of bagging free cakes for her 40th birthday. Three Little Birds Bakery said it received a request from an events agency to make a cake and 100 cupcakes for the birthday of an unidentified "well-known" celebrity – later revealed to be soap star Catherine, 39.
The bakery, located in Keighley, West Yorkshire, responded to the request by declining the offer, with owner Rebecca Severs saying her staff "can't feed their kids with exposure on Instagram". "I'm so sorry to hear that your client has fallen on such hard times they can't afford to pay small businesses for their products," she wrote. "Unfortunately as my mortgage provider doesn't take payment 'in the form of promotion on their socials', and my staff can't feed their kids with exposure on Instagram, I'll have to decline your very generous offer."
Alongside screenshots of the emails sent, the bakery wrote in the post: "This poor celebrity apparently can't afford to pay people for their products and services. Spare a thought! What happened to women supporting women."