Sam Ryder falls foul of TV regulators after sparking chaos in This Morning studio

Sam Ryder fell foul of TV regulators on Thursday after urging This Morning viewers to stream songs from his new album and give him a Christmas number one. 

The former vegan café owner turned singer-songwriter is in the midst of a festive promotional campaign following the December 9 release of his debut album, There’s Nothing But Space, Man!

And Ryder, 33, caused momentary panic amongst ITV producers after This Morning co-hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary allowed him to address viewers directly during his latest interview. 

Awkward: Sam Ryder fell foul of TV regulators on Thursday after urging This Morning viewers to stream songs from his new album and give him a Christmas number one

The singer – who narrowly missed out on becoming the Eurovision Song Contest’s first British winner since 1997 in May – seized the opportunity to beg for a number one after discovering he’s currently top of the UK chart. 

‘If you’ve enjoyed anything this year you can get behind us,’ he urged viewers. ‘We’re currently number one but we’re not sitting on a couch, comfortable at number one. 

‘There’s a race going on. We can do this. We need your support. This is our shot, please help us out.’ 

Faux pas: Ryder caused momentary panic amongst ITV producers after This Morning co-hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary allowed him to address viewers directly

Buy this now: Brandishing a vinyl copy of his new album, the singer urged fans to buy it before end of week sales are tallied in the hope of grabbing a Christmas number one 

Wasting no time: The singer seized the opportunity to beg for a number one after discovering he’s currently top of the UK chart 

Brandishing a vinyl copy of his new album and urging fans to buy it before end of week sales are tallied, he added: ‘Grab this album before midnight tonight. Download it on Amazon or iTunes and let’s make this happen. I love you.’ 

Aware of the potential breach of broadcasting guidelines, Dermot joked: ‘I’m sure we’ve just broken like 20 rules by doing that!’ 

‘Yes, we have, we absolutely have,’ Ryder said, before motioning to the producers’ off-camera by swiping a hand across his throat and adding: ‘I can see people going like this…’ 

Peace: Ryder posed for photographers backstage at ITV studios following his interview

Fans were equally divided by Ryder’s attempt to plug his own album for a number one spot – an apparent breach of broadcasting protocol and a potential red flag for TV and  radio regulator Ofcom.

Taking to Twitter, one aggrieved viewer wrote: ‘ME ME ME ME ME.’ 

However many were drawn to Ryder’s upbeat personality, with one commenting: ‘I’m a pessimist but Sam Ryder’s positivity is contagious.’ 

While a second added: ‘Lots of Twitter users triggered by Sam Ryder’s positivity and optimism I see. How sad.’ 

A third wrote: ‘So glad for Sam Ryder and his success he really is a gentleman and a genuinely lovely guy hope he gets number one.’ 

Another posted: I honestly think we should have a daily national address by Sam Ryder rather than Breakfast Tv. We’d all be skipping to work and smiling from ear to ear. What a joyous guy!’