The mother who found herself at the centre of a heated debate after Jan Leeming complained about her ‘screaming child’ in a restaurant has identified herself – and issued a fiery response to the BBC star.
Alex Edwards, 35, feels unfairly targeted by a series of social media posts by the ex-newsreader about a trip to a hotel and restaurant in Kent – and suggested Leeming, 84, should stay away from venues with children’s menus in future.
She also told the Daily Mail her three young children were well behaved during a family outing of their own to celebrate husband Taylor’s 35th birthday – and hit back at ‘offensive’ criticisms made in response to the TV star’s series of comments on X.
The response comes after former I’m A Celebrity contestant Leeming sparked a fevered online debate with her thoughts on a visit last month to The Pig at Bridge Place, near Canterbury in Kent.
The former presenter told her 12,000 X followers how a recent trip for a friend’s birthday was ‘spoiled by a screaming child at lunch’ – adding: ‘If you can afford to eat there, get a babysitter!’
But now Mrs Edwards, who believes she was the allegedly ‘oblivious’ mother targeted, has said: ‘The suggestion that we are “oblivious parents” is unfair and frankly offensive. We are a family who enjoy celebrating together.
‘The restaurant offers a children’s menu, which we took to mean that children are welcome.
‘If someone strongly dislikes the sound or presence of children, I would suggest that responsibility lies with them to choose a child-free venue. Perhaps Jan should find a restaurant without a kids’ menu in future.’
Mother-of-three Alex Edwards has responded to Jan Leeming’s criticism of children’s behaviour during birthday meals at The Pig at Bridge Place, Canterbury in Kent
Jan Leeming’s latest social media posts following her own trip to the same venue included the advice: ‘If you can afford to eat there, get a babysitter!’
In a string of posts on X, on which she continued to post through Wednesday about her experience, Leeming said: ‘Perhaps this shows my age. I took a friend as a birthday present to lunch at the Pig at Bridge – not inexpensive.
‘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.
‘Quite the opposite. 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! They are also allowed at dinner.
‘One tot was a real menace allowed to walk around and often screaming. Staff played with it! Another tot in high chair had a screen as a pacifier. Another was okay. Parents oblivious to other clients.
‘Apart from anything else I’d be highly embarrassed if my child were a nuisance to others.
‘But it’s general now. Apart from the nuisance I wonder how young parents can afford to eat out.
‘Obviously if child is in a high chair they won’t be eating but older children might be. Can understand taking children to Macdonalds etc but not an expensive restaurant.’
Taylor and Alex Edwards, both 35, went to the hotel and restaurant in Kent for his 35th birthday
They attended with their three children for a ‘special occasion’ celebrating Taylor (pictured)
A spokesperson for The Pig told the Daily Mail in response: ‘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.’
And now Mrs Edwards described how their own visit on January 23 at about 3.30pm involved a deliberately chosen ‘later afternoon time so that the restaurant would be quieter and so as not to disrupt other diners’.
The couple were there with their three children aged six, four and one.
She says that on their arrival, only two other tables were occupied – one by two elderly women and another a middle-aged man and woman, ‘both of whom appeared to be celebrating birthdays’.
She added: ‘I was aware during the meal that the two elderly women seated some distance from us did not respond to my children in the way people usually do.
‘My one-year-old, in particular, is extremely smiley and loves to wave at people, and it was noticeable that this warmth wasn’t returned. However, nothing was said to us directly.
‘I would genuinely encourage anyone who feels uncomfortable with my children’s presence to speak to us or to staff at the time, as that would give us the opportunity to address the situation appropriately.’
She was also upset by ‘unpleasant’ comments left online in response to Leeming’s posts, including some labelling the children mentioned ‘brats’ and suggesting the family ‘sod off to a Wacky Warehouse or a McDonald’s’.
Alex Edwards described her children as well behaved and popular with restaurant staff
Jan Leeming, 84, seen here on ITV’s Good Morning Britain in August 2022, has urged parents to keep young children away from ‘an expensive restaurant’
Former BBC newsreader Jan Leeming has made a series of comments on X about her recent visit to The Pig at Bridge Place, near Canterbury in Kent – prompting plenty of responses
Mrs Edwards said: ‘I find this kind of language disappointing. Why should my children be limited to fast food environments when we can afford, and wish, to occasionally treat them to a more special dining experience?
‘Children don’t magically learn how to behave in social settings – they learn by being included in them.’
She described her children as ‘well mannered and used to eating in a range of restaurants’, including not only The Pig at Bridge Place but also The Ivy in Covent Garden, central London.
She was also keen to praise staff at the restaurant in the village of Bridge, adding: ‘We have never received complaints, and staff are consistently warm and welcoming towards them.
‘Our eldest, in particular, is confident and polite – he enjoys interacting with staff, orders for himself and his brothers and even asks for the bill.’
She told how their visit for her husband’s birthday ‘was a special occasion for us too’.
Mrs Edwards said: ‘It was January and we went for the cheaper set menu and this also meant we knew it would be less busy.
‘We go to The Pig to celebrate often with our kids as they have a kids’ menu and the staff are fantastic with my children. They also offer colouring crayons and paper.
Alex Edwards, pictured with husband Taylor and their children, was keen to praise staff from The Pig at Bridge Place as ‘consistently warm and welcoming’
Jan Leeming, pictured presenting the news for the BBC, has continued to join an ongoing online debate after her comments about a ‘screaming’ child at during a visit for a meal
‘I was not oblivious – my toddler barely cried at all and when he did I picked him up and left the restaurant for a bit.
‘The older children behaved well, they only got up to go to the toilet and speak to staff members about their order.
‘As I take my kids out often, they understand how to behave in social settings and the staff love them.
‘Parents today are allowed to be in less cheap spaces, especially those that offer kids’ menus as this is an obvious indicator that children are invited to dine too.’
Leeming posted about her experience at The Pig at Bridge Place earlier this week, with comments in response such as: ‘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.’
She continued to add to the online debate on Wednesday, including: ‘I’d have been happy if receptionist had apologised and hoped that otherwise we had had a pleasant lunch. But she acted as though I was in the wrong.’
Jan Leeming finished sixth as a contestant on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity in 2006
She also told followers she was turning down interview requests, while adding: ‘Of many dozens who responded on Twitter, all but a tiny handful agreed with me.’
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 Woman’s Hour and the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest, before later finishing sixth on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity in 2006.
The Pig hotel and restaurant 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 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 pickled cucumber for £14 and £12 mushroom house salad.
Sides include a ‘flowerpot of chips’ for £6.50, ‘walled garden salad’ at £6 and £6.25 tobacco onions, while bottles of wine range in price from £35 to £600.
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.’
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.
Leeming complained about a family not doing enough to quieten their ‘screaming’ child at The Pig at Bridge Place (pictured), near Canterbury in Kent
Robin and Judy Hutson announced in 2024 they were retiring from their respective roles as chairman and creative director, 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.’
