Back in 1994, Good Morning Britain host Richard Madeley was arrested for failing to pay for items, including champagne, on two occasions at a Tesco supermarket in Walkden, Greater Manchester

Good Morning Britain viewers couldn’t resist poking fun at Richard Madeley as they tuned into Wednesday’s edition of the ITV show.

Richard, 66, was hosting the programme alongside Susanna Reid when the conversation turned to shoplifting.

The father-of-two began the segment by saying: “The Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, has told this programme that pensioners who steal because they cannot afford the essentials, should not be let off the hook.”

Richard and Susanna then spoke to two former police officers who were on opposing sides of the argument.

GMB viewers felt the chat could have been rather awkward for Richard due to an incident he found himself in in the past.

In 1994, the TV presentrer was arrested for failing to pay for items, including champagne, on two occasions at a Tesco supermarket in Walkden, Greater Manchester.

He was later acquitted of all shoplifting charges after citing lapses of memory.

Taking to Twitter, one viewer wrote: “Richard talking about shoplifting hahaha #gmb.”

Another said: “Awkward topic for Richard, this #gmb,” while a third tweeted: “i’m not sure richard can be objective on this issue #gmb.”

Someone else pondered: “Richard Madeley talking about shoplifting on #gmb, I wonder if he’s on the side of leniency? #forgottopay.”

And another viewer joked before the segment: “#gmb talking about shoplifting shortly. Good to see they have brought an expert on to discuss in Richard Madeley.”

Richard previously confessed he’d been “overconfident” when he was younger, that led to him being caught shoplifting in 1994.

In 2008, he told The Guardian about the incident. He said that it originally happened by mistake when he forgot to put Champagne through the till alongside his food shop.

He said: “I was just not concentrating. I put the food through the till, I forgot to take the champagne out.

“It was, I can handle anything, I can juggle eight balls in the air, and actually I came a horrible cropper. I can joke about it now.”

Although he was cleared of the charges in court, he said that the “publicity was mortifying”.

He compared shoplifting to public masturbation, saying: “If I’d been accused of robbing a bank, at least it’s got a bit of glamour to it, but f***ing shoplifting… It’s like w***ing in a public toilet. Just horrible.”

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV and ITV Hub.