TFI Friday had fans glued to their seats during its peak in the 1990s.
Loud, unpredictable and often teetering on the edge of outright anarchy, the show didn’t just reflect 90s lad culture, it actively fuelled it.
Hosted by Chris Evans at his most unfiltered, it thrived on a sense that anything could happen… and quite often it did.
While the show has received praise for being so crazy, it has also produced its fair share of controversy, for which it has received criticism.
From awkward celebrity clashes to genuinely uncomfortable segments, the show walked a fine line between entertainment and being offensive.
Taking a look at five of the most shocking moments that defined the show, Metro has taken a deep dive into TFI Friday.
The Victoria Beckham interview
Apart from a brief revival in 2015, Chris hasn’t returned to TFI Friday until now.
However, few moments from the show have aged quite as awkwardly as Victoria Beckham’s interview.
In a resurfaced clip, the 59-year-old DJ and presenter can be seen grilling the Spice Girls icon over her weight shortly after she gave birth.
The shocking interaction happened in May 1999, just two months after she had given birth to her first son, Brooklyn Beckham.
Chris asked Victoria if her weight was ‘back to normal’, to which she said ‘yes’. He then pulled a weighing scale out from his desk, asking if they could ‘check’.
Victoria addressed the incident in 2022 in a Vogue interview, stating: ‘He made me stand on the scales to be weighed. Can you imagine doing that nowadays?’
Shaun Ryder’s X-rated appearance
Alongside awkward celebrity interviews, a major problem with the show was the issue of live broadcasting.
As guests were welcomed on the show, they swore while different segments spiralled.
No other guest embodied this better than Happy Mondays lead vocalist Shaun Ryder.
Appearing on the first season of the show in the mid-90s, he dropped the F-bomb, which led to Chris giving an onscreen apology.
Despite being issued a ban, Shaun did make a comeback and performed an expletive-filled version of the Sex Pistols’ Pretty Vacant which led to more apologies and consequences for Channel 4.
Outcry over a staring contest
Outside of celebrity appearances, the show was also beloved for its weird and wacky challenges.
One competition in particular, however, was heavily reprimanded after a competition to win a car for their parents put two children head-to-head in a staring contest.
After one of the children lost, they broke down in tears live on camera, causing outcry from viewers.
The fallout was even worse, as a formal warning was given to Channel 4.
In the 2015 reboot, however, the pair were invited back as grown men for another match and they were given holidays to Barbados.
Kylie Minogue and Geri Halliwell kiss
Another crazy moment on the show came when Kylie Minogue and Geri Halliwell were made to arm-wrestle.
Evans had managed to convince the pair to show off their strength.
It also fitted in with the theme of making celebrities do things outside of their comfort zone.
However, after the contest ended in a stalemate the duo shocked everybody when they decided to kiss.
After it happened, the pair both claimed that the moment was not planned.
Fat lookalikes
Keeping in theme with the controversial nature of the show, the ‘Fat Lookalikes’ segment is one that was extremely offensive.
Members of the public would nominate themselves to go on the segment, and then viewers would work out which famous person they looked like.
The celebrity whom they had chosen would then appear on the screen.
In 2022, resurfaced clips of the ‘Fat Lookalikes’ segment sparked shock when they circulated on TikTok.
‘TV in the 90s was something else bruh,’ one person reacted at the time, while another said: ‘Nowadays this would probably cause a lot of controversy and there would be calls for the show to be axed.’
TFI Friday airs on Channel 4.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.