BBC presenter and TV personality Gethin Jones has claimed he was banned from dating app Hinge after 300 women reported him, thinking he was catfishing.
Jones revealed on the podcast Restless Natives he was “kicked off” the platform twice for “violating the code of conduct”.
“I should know better to not verify my account,” he said.
Hinge has been asked to comment.
It is easy to copy someone’s pictures and set up a fake online account – a phenomenon known as catfishing. But in this case, it was the real deal.
Gethin Jones first came to the public’s attention as a presenter for Blue Peter, went on to host The One Show, This Morning and is now a presenter on Morning Live.
He has also appeared as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.
He told Restless Natives hosts Martin Compston and Gordon Smart on Wednesday: “The moment when I have to write to Hinge, ‘Dear Hinge’ on a Thursday night, on your own, writing to an online dating app. ‘Hi it’s Gethin here, 46. I just want to get my money back because it’s not really working for me,’ eating some cereal because I hadn’t got some food in.
“That was when I was like ‘what am I doing with my life’.”
The hosts suggested he try Raya, an app aimed specifically at celebrities which requires users to apply to a committee before being accepted.
On its website, Hinge said if a user was banned then “we’ve detected activity associated with your account that violated our Terms of Service”.
“We take violations of our policies very seriously,” it added.
Its policy said users must not “misrepresent your identity, age, current or previous positions, qualifications, or affiliations with a person or entity”.
Jones was previously in a relationship with Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins after the pair met on Strictly Come Dancing in 2007, but the couple split in 2011.
