Philip Schofield has slammed the woman who started a nationwide hunt for a cheating boyfriend named ‘Ben’.
Emily Shepherd was on a service from Bournemouth to Manchester when she heard the love rat bragging to his friends about bedding other women, despite having a girlfriend.
The 23-year-old quickly posted a warning to Ben’s partner on Twitter and told them to ‘Dump his ass.’
Emily appeared on This Morning today to reveal how she has ‘no sympathy’ for Ben who she labelled ‘disgusting and disrespectful’.
But the TV host argued the man was ‘essentially having a private conversation’, adding: ‘You’ve called him out and essentially named and shamed him.
‘We don’t know how old he is, we don’t the background, how serious the girlfriend was, whether they were really going out and now everyone is looking for him.’
Emily Shepherd was on the train from Bournemouth to Manchester when she heard a man called Ben tell his friends about his conquests
Emily Shepherd, 23, was on a service from Bournemouth to Manchester when she heard a man bragging to friends about how he had cheated on his partner – so she tweeted about it
Emily appeared on This Morning today to reveal how she has ‘no sympathy’ for Ben who she labelled ‘disgusting and disrespectful’
He added after the interview: ‘Although I get what Emily says, his behaviour was obviously appalling and they weren’t being particularly good on the train, I don’t know whether it’s a good idea to call someone out like that if you don’t know the circumstances.’
In her tweet that went viral last Friday, Emily wrote: ‘If anyone has a boyfriend called Ben on the Bournemouth – Manchester train right now, he’s just told his friends he’s cheating on you. Dump his ass x’
She later tweeted: ‘For those asking: Ben is yet to be found, I’ve had several messages but nothing yet.
‘I’m now on the Manchester – Bournemouth train and no sign yet… thanks to everyone calling me a grass and a snake, you’re all great.’
Speaking to Holly and Phil on This Morning, Emily said Ben was among a group of men drinking, swearing and boasting about their conquests on the train carriage.
She said: ‘There were just a group of lads on the train drinking, swearing, being really loud overall they were going through Facebook profile pictures of girls saying, ‘I would have that one..’
‘Then one of them said, ‘I already have.’ It disgusted me.
‘One said to him, ‘what about your girlfriend?’ He said, ‘she doesn’t need to know,’ and they all laughed.’
Emily tweeted about the incident on Friday evening and went to bed with less than ten likes, but woke up the next day to find her post had gone viral.
When asked if Ben would be found, she added: ‘I think after three days, he must know the nation is on the hunt for him.
‘I don’t think he’s going to be found. I’ve had so many messages from people asking me if ‘this is him’, but I’ve had nothing confirmed.
‘I don’t have any sympathy for him. The way he was bragging about it and shouting at the train carriage.
‘If he has any respect for his girlfriend he wouldn’t have been shouting about it on the train.’
Speaking to Holly and Phil on This Morning, Emily said Ben was among a group of men drinking, swearing and boasting about their conquests on the train carriage
Among those wading in to help identify the unfaithful partner was Dragon’s Den judge Deborah Meaden, who tweeted: ‘Dear cheating Ben… can you please make yourself known before all the non cheating Bens find out where you live…’
The post was retweeted more than 27,000 times with tweeters wading in to help identify the unfaithful partner.
Among those hoping to reveal Ben’s identity was Dragon’s Den judge Deborah Meaden, who tweeted: ‘Dear cheating Ben… can you please make yourself known before all the non cheating Bens find out where you live…’
Comedian Katherine Ryan also waded in, tweeting: ‘Good work, Em.’
When one man hit back, noting there were ‘probably several Bens on the train’, she said: ‘Dump them all to be safe.’
She later added: ‘Ben is trash.’
While some praised Emily for her attempts to expose Ben’s unfaithful behaviour, she has also been told to ‘mind her own business’.
One poster quipped: ’50 Bens just got dumped.’
The post was retweeted more than 27,000 times with tweeters wading in to help identify the unfaithful partner
While another wrote: ‘Maybe Ben is just full of bravado in front of his mates and you are all seeking to ruin a happy relationship.
‘Whatever happened to privacy and secrecy or just minding your own business?
After one tweeter called her a snake, a poster leapt to her defence saying: ‘Why, because she exposed a dude for not treating a girl right?
‘If the shoe was on the other foot you boys would be speaking nothing but hell about this girl, saying she being disrespectful and all that. Stop praising and promoting cheating.’