Shatner Ilfracombe – In 2012, William Shatner struggled to pronounce Ilfracombe on Have I Got News For You, then suggested the Devon town was “laced with prostitution.” The remark drew backlash from residents, prompting a response from the former mayor and a reply from Shatner him
Everything about Devon, at least on a good day, sounds like it should be harmless: cows in the distance, cobbled streets, rolling hills—and rice pudding that manages to taste like someone cared.
But in 2012, a joke from William Shatner landed in the wrong place.
Shatner. fresh from work on insurance adverts and from playing in the odd orbit of Elton John-style talking-jazz. stepped into the Have I Got News For You hotseat as a guest host. The moment that became a headache for local residents came during discussion of Ilfracombe, a town in Devon. Because Shatner is Canadian, he struggled with the pronunciation. Charlie Brooker then commented that Shatner had made it sound “deeply sexual.”.
Instead of letting it end with Brooker’s remark, Shatner went further. He said, “the place is laced with prostitution”.
That line didn’t sit well with the people who live there. The former Mayor Paul Crabb emailed Shatner’s agents to register his displeasure. Crabb’s point was sharp and personal: Shatner hadn’t visited the Devon town in his life. despite the fact he has been to places no man had been before. Crabb also made it clear what he wanted Shatner to understand. “If he came. we could show him that there is no prostitution in Ilfracombe and that it is a lovely coastal town with spectacular scenery and a close community”.
Crabb’s email might have been where it ended—an objection, a boundary—but Shatner replied anyway. In a missive signed “Bill. ” he took responsibility in his own way. writing that prostitution “commonly means sex for something of value” and that he would be “hard pressed to believe that sex was not being had in Ilfracombe for something of value. perhaps a lengthy marriage. children or a valuable career”.
He then offered an apology. “In any event, my apologies for having singled out Ilfracombe as a potential haven for prostitution. With you overseeing, I am sure that will not happen”.
For Paul Crabb, it was enough to bring the temperature down. He seemed reasonably happy with Shatner’s mea culpa. saying most residents were a good-natured bunch and that plenty would have taken the barb as tongue-in-cheek humour. Still, not everyone was on the same page. Some people were upset with the remark, including residents described as being exasperated with the former ex-James T Kirk.
The whole episode matters less because Shatner is ever likely to go back to Devon—and more because it shows how quickly a careless line can force a community to defend itself. A town built on its everyday life suddenly becomes “a potential haven” for something its residents say isn’t there.
Shatner is now 95. Back in his 80s when this happened. he has long been known for not shrinking from attention—and this week he even told an entertainment website. “I don’t wanna die!”. a line shared as he described his attachment to his dogs. That same energy, years earlier, was exactly what turned a pronunciation struggle into a public dispute for Ilfracombe.
William Shatner Ilfracombe Devon Have I Got News For You Charlie Brooker Paul Crabb prostitution joke Bill Shatner apology