Newsreader Jan Leeming has blamed parents and staff for a screaming child she says spoiled a birthday dinner at an upmarket hotel and restaurant chain.
The former BBC presenter, 84, launched an attack against families bringing young children into such venues – and struck a chord with many replying on social media.
Ms Leeming told how she went to a branch of THE PIG in the village of Bridge, near Canterbury in Kent, to treat a friend to a birthday dinner at a place where wine bottles run from £35 to £600 and rooms this month cost hundreds of pounds per night.
She criticised ‘oblivious’ parents for doing little to intervene – while saying if they could afford the upmarket chain’s prices, they could afford a babysitter.
Ms Leeming also accused workers at THE PIG at Bridge Place pub of treating her badly when she complained, while some are also said to have played with the child.
The pub and hotel chain currently has 10 venues across the country, including in the Cotswolds, the New Forest, Hampshire and Cornwall – with a further two planned, in South Warwickshire and on the border of Kent and East Sussex.
The ex-newscaster, who finished sixth on I’m A Celebrity in 2006, has sparked a fevered debate stretching across hours about her comments on X, formerly Twitter.
She initially posted to the site: ‘Perhaps this shows my age. I took a friend as a birthday present to lunch at the Pig at Bridge – not inexpensive.
Ex-newsreader Jan Leeming, seen on ITV’s Good Morning Britain in August 2022, has posted on X about her experience at a pub in Canterbury where she said her visit was marred
Leeming complained about a family not doing enough to quieten their ‘screaming’ child at THE PIG at Bridge Place (pictured), near Canterbury in Kent
‘Lovely ambiance – slightly spoiled by a screaming child at lunch. When I paid and remonstrated, was treated as though I were the one at fault.’
She followed up by saying: ‘Don’t think a traditional pub is the place for children. Also in the evening surely young children should be in bed. Cost of baby sitting should be factored into cost of the outing.’
Ms Leeming added: ‘When paying the receptionist, she treated me as though I was out of order.
‘She defended parents bringing children to the restaurant – there were three. If you can afford to eat there, get a babysitter!’
She attracted plenty of sympathy in comments responding, with one poster telling her: ‘I’m with you 100% Jan…parents these days just DON’T discipline their children and don’t think there is anything wrong with that.’
Another called for children under 12 to be banned ‘from ale houses and restaurants’.
Ms Leeming replied by saying: ‘Don’t think they can legally ban children. Also it would adversely affect trade. So we just have to like it, lump it or not go again.’
A spokesperson for THE PIG said: ‘Everyone is welcome at THE PIG- at Bridge Place and we go to great lengths to ensure that all of our guests (young and old) are looked after by our wonderful team.’
Jan Leeming, pictured presenting the news for the BBC, has sparked an online debate with her comments about a ‘screaming’ child at an upmarket pub and hotel
Newscaster Jan Leeming’s comments about children in pubs sparked debate on social media
The TV personality, who has been married five times, worked as a BBC presenter between 1969 and 1987 – including a stint as a newsreader from 1980.
She also hosted the corporation’s Pebble Mill At One, BBC Radio 4’s Women’s House and the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest.
The five-time-married mother-of-one first wed BBC sound engineer John Staple in 1961, but they only lasted seven months together.
She then lived with poet Owen Leeming and took his surname though they never tied the knot.
In 1972 she married estate agent Jeremy Gilchrist and in 1981 wed radio announcer Patrick Lunt, the father of her son Jonathan.
Husband number four was Red Arrows pilot Eric Steenson, with her fifth marriage being to headteacher Chris Russell before it later ended.
She told in April last year on the Suddenly Single podcast how she had joined a dating site and did not rule out getting married for the sixth time.
THE PIG at Bridge Place advertises ‘Chef’s Picks’ set menus costing £24.50 for two courses and £29.50 for three, while the afternoon menu includes smoked trout and picked cucumber for £14 and £12 mushroom house salad.
Jan Leeming finished sixth as a contestant on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity in 2006
Sides include a ‘flowerpot of chips’ for £6.50, ‘walled garden salad’ at £6 and £6.25 tobacco onions.
Bottles of wine range in price from £35 to £600, with the firm’s website stating: ‘Wine is woven into life at THE PIG. Each house has a cellar stocked with bottles from small growers, English vineyards and trusted old-world favourites.
‘Our sommeliers work hand-in-hand with the kitchen team so what’s poured in the glass matches what’s grown in the garden.
‘From laid-back glasses in the bar to vineyard trips just down the road, wine is never an afterthought – it’s part of the experience.’
The company also says: ‘THE PIGs are a bunch of laid-back hotels where the restaurant is at the heart of the house, tucked away in some of the most stunning corners of the British countryside and coast.
‘From seriously good local food and knock-out drinks to cosy bedrooms and unmissable experiences, every visit invites you to settle in and slow down.’
The first venue opened in Brockenhurst, in Hampshire’s New Forest, in 2011 – described by the company as being ‘a family affair’, with founder Robin Hutson’s wife Judy in charge of furnishings and their son Ollie working in the kitchen gardens.
Robin and Judy Hutson announced in 2024 they were retiring from their respective roles as chairman and creative director.
Jan Leeming’s latest social media posts included the advice: ‘If you can afford to eat there, get a babysitter!’
That came two years after forming a partnership with private equity firm KSL Capital Partners who took over the Pig Hotels’ parent firm.
In a statement announcing the couple’s retirement plans, Mr Hutson said: ‘As you can imagine, this has been a difficult decision for us to make.
‘We love what we do, it’s our world, and we have lived it 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for a very long time.
‘Throughout our careers, I think we have developed and launched around 20 successful hotel projects over a 30-year period, so we reckon we have done our bit!
‘So, why? Well, frankly, we are not getting any younger. We want to enjoy a little more leisure time whilst we are still reasonably fit and healthy, and we want to spend more time with our family, especially our grandchildren, over the coming years.
‘Additionally, as I think you know, I had successful treatment, but a close encounter with prostate cancer last year, and incidents like these certainly focus the mind.
‘While this announcement is bittersweet for us, we are incredibly proud of all that The Pig team has accomplished together. Founding and growing The Pig Hotels has no doubt been the pinnacle of our careers.’
