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Ben Fordham had to tell his daughter a ‘little white lie’ to cover up for a children’s entertainer who failed to show up for her Frozen-themed birthday party on Sunday.
The radio presenter and his wife Jodie Speers had arranged for a Princess Anna impersonator to host six-year-old Pearl’s party – but she never arrived and couldn’t even be bothered to tell them she wouldn’t be coming.
Speaking on his 2GB breakfast show on Monday, Fordham said he’d softened the blow by telling Pearl the Frozen impersonator couldn’t attend because she had been in a car accident, when in reality her car had just broken down.
He also ‘tried to keep his cool’ so as not to set a bad example for the kids.
Ben Fordham (pictured) had to tell his daughter a ‘little white lie’ to cover up for a children’s entertainer who failed to show up for her Frozen-themed birthday party on Sunday
The saga went public on Sunday night when Speers leaked a series of texts from the ‘Anna’ performer after she bailed on Pearl’s party without so much as a phone call.
In a message sent 20 minutes after the party had started, the woman said she could not make it because her car had broken down that morning.
She later brushed off Speers when she asked ‘why didn’t you let us know you weren’t coming?’ by saying: ‘Sorry, I didn’t think about it even.’
Fordham explained on Monday he’d confirmed the details, paid the deposit and sent the entertainer his address on Friday, two days before the party.
The radio presenter and his wife Jodie Speers had arranged for a Princess Anna impersonator to host six-year-old Pearl’s party – but she never arrived and couldn’t even be bothered to tell them she wouldn’t be coming. (Pictured:Â Pearl with a Frozen cake her aunt baked for her)
After Sunday’s disappointing no-show, he learned the kids’ party company actually has a system in place so a replacement can be drafted in if a host isn’t available.
The entertainers are all members of a WhatsApp group where they let each other know if they can’t make a booking so someone else can fill in for them.
But in this case, ‘Anna from Frozen’ didn’t let the group chat know she could not attend Pearl’s party, so a replacement was not found in time.
‘She didn’t send a message to the WhatsApp group so we were left stranded,’ Fordham said. ‘I had to tell a bit of a white lie to Pearl when she said, “Where’s Anna?”
‘I said, “Look, darling. We don’t know where she is, but she could have been involved in a car accident, so we just need to be aware [of that].”‘
Despite giving the woman the benefit of the doubt for his daughter’s sake, Fordham said he got the impression from her texts that ‘Anna’s’ car troubles weren’t serious.
Speaking on his 2GB breakfast show on Monday, Fordham (pictured with wife Jodie Speers and son Freddy) said he’d softened the blow by telling Pearl (left) the Frozen impersonator couldn’t attend because she had been in a car accident, when in reality her car had just broken down
2GB morning presenter Ray Hadley then said the entertainer had ‘just made her last performance as Anna’, adding: ‘I think she’ll be looking for further employment.’
Fordham also said he’d been ‘alerted to a few reviews’ on the company’s Facebook page from angry parents claiming the entertainer they’d hired hadn’t shown up.
Despite earlier joking ‘you haven’t heard the end of this’, he ended the segment by saying he would just ‘let it go’ – a reference to a famous song from Frozen.
It remains to be seen whether he will get his deposit back, but Fordham insisted it was not a large amount.
Fordham and Speers hired the impersonator because Pearl is a huge fan of Frozen – but when the party started at 2:30pm and the entertainer was nowhere to be seen, Speers texted her asking where she was, only to receive an unsatisfactory response.
The saga went public on Sunday night when Speers leaked a series of texts from the ‘Anna’ performer after she bailed on Pearl’s party without so much as a phone call (pictured)
In a series of leaked texts, the woman explained her car had broken down that morning, but what Speers found most frustrating was that she didn’t even bother to send a text explaining she wouldn’t be coming.
The mother of three, 39, texted the Frozen impersonator at 2:50pm asking for an update, and received a frantic but vague reply several minutes later.
‘Hi, just wondering where you are! Pearl’s party started at 2:30,’ Speers wrote.
The entertainer responded: ‘Hi I am super sorry. I’ve broken dows [sic] with my car this morning and had a really bad time.’
Speers texted back: ‘Why didn’t you message us to let us know you weren’t coming?’
‘I’m sorry I didn’t think about it even,’ the woman wrote.
Speers posted a screenshot of the texts on Instagram on Sunday night, and said she would never hire a children’s entertainer again.
The mother of three posted a screenshot of the texts on Instagram on Sunday night, and said she would never hire a children’s entertainer again. (Pictured: Speers and Fordham with their three children, Freddy, Pearl and Marigold)
‘Last time I rely on a party entertainer! This [happened] as 14 little girls waited excitedly for Anna from Frozen to turn up,’ she captioned it.
Speers and Fordham, who is also a presenter for Channel Nine, married in 2011 and are parents to three children, Freddy, Pearl and Marigold.
She has hosted the Early News bulletin for Channel Seven since January 2016.
Speers has hosted the Early News bulletin for Channel Seven since January 2016. Fordham presents the top-rating breakfast show on talkback station 2GB
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