Celebrities

Richard Madeley admits that he wasn't sure who Liam Payne was due to his 'confusing' accent

Richard Madeley admits that he wasn't sure who Liam Payne was due to his 'confusing' accent
Liam Payne reacts to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at Oscars ceremony
ITV

Liam Payne’s accent during an Oscars interview baffled Good Morning Britain viewers and social media users alike.

Even GMB host Richard Madeley was left scratching his head.

Remarking on Payne’s unusual accent, co-host Susanna Reid commented: “He’s gone all Hollywood”.

“It’s confusing – we actually weren’t quite sure who he was, because he didn’t sound like him,” Madeley admitted.

In a now-viral video, the Wolverhampton-born singer shared his thoughts on the Will Smith debacle.

Taking to social media, one viewer remarked: “Watching GMB and what the hell has happened to Liam Payne’s accent?! He has an American twang but at times he sounds like he isn’t even English!”

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Journalist Josh Knapman wrote: “Will Smith smacked Chris Rock so hard, Liam Payne's accent changed.”

To get to the bottom of whatever was happening with Payne’s vocal chords, Good Morning Britain today enlisted the help of Dialect Coach Expert Elspeth Morrison to try and figure out what Payne was aiming for.

Morrison said she detected a bit of Irish, Welsh, American, “something European and definitely alien”.

“He was all over the place,” she remarked, before listing examples of words he said in vastly different accents."

Commenting on Morrison’s analysis, Madeley said: “It’s true, people’s accents do change. I saw an old clip of me on Yorkshire television about 30 years ago or more… and I was talking like ‘that’”, pronouncing “that” in an old RP-sounding way.

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