Noel Edmonds admits the lobsters he freed may now be dead after he suffered backlash over viral clip – and says he loves living on the Isle of Man because it’s ‘how England used to be’

Noel Edmonds has posted a lengthy response after suffering backlash over a viral video which showed him buying live lobsters from a farm shop to release into the sea.

The former Deal Or No Deal host, 77, found himself in hot water this week after he shared a clip of himself and his wife Liz returning the crustaceans to the water at Peel Harbour on the Isle of Man after purchasing them from a tank at a local shop.

Noel’s move sparked backlash from his followers, as stressed lobsters are rarely equipped to survive in the wild, and releasing them can introduce foreign diseases.

Four days on, Noel has tried to explain his actions and ‘elbow out the lies’ in a new Instagram video captioned ‘lobsters and pork pies are on the menu today.”

Conceding that he ‘probably only delayed the inevitable’ and the lobsters could now be dead, Noel explained how the incident all started when he and Liz were shopping at his friend Matt Harrison’s farm shop on the Isle of Man and Liz saw two lobsters in a tank.

‘She said “Oh I feel sorry for them in the tank” and Matt said “you’re not the first person to say that actually,”‘ Noel told his followers.

The star, 77, found himself in hot water this week after he shared a clip of himself and his wife Liz returning the crustaceans to the water at on the Isle of Man after purchasing them

‘She said “I’d like to buy them and release them.” And Matt said “you’re not the first person to say that.” But do you know what he then did? He offered us the lobsters for nothing as a gift. We actually paid for them because we felt that was really important.’

Noel continued, explaining how Matt ‘gave us a box to put the lobsters in and he said the temperature of the tank is very similar to where they came from, which is Peel on the west coast of the Isle of Man. And he told us how to release them.’

‘And that is the absolute truth,’ insisted Noel. ‘At that point those lobsters were ours and it was our choice to return them to their natural environment as best we could, I mean we had to do it in the harbour because we don’t have a boat.’

Noel then did admit that the freed lobsters could now be dead, saying ‘I concede we probably only delayed the inevitable but hey maybe those two lobsters are still out there, well I don’t know what lobsters do, but having a wonderful time. So there you have it.’

Noel was also keen to stress his love for the Isle of Man, where he owns a holiday home, heaping praise on his neighbours and local businesses like Matt’s.  

‘I really like the Isle of Man, it’s how England used to be before it became what it is now,’ he said. ‘There’s a real sense of community, we know all of our neighbours and they’re lovely.’

‘People on the Isle of Man are really proud of the island and they really like people who like their island.’

Noel’s move sparked backlash from his followers, as stressed lobsters are rarely equipped to survive in the wild, and releasing them can introduce foreign diseases 

Releasing a supermarket or restaurant lobster is generally discouraged due to low survival rates. 

Handled and stressed lobsters are rarely equipped to survive in the wild, and releasing them can introduce foreign diseases or disrupt local marine ecosystems 

In response to Noel’s original video on Tuesday, Matt, the owner of the farm shop said he’d be moving its lobster tank to a less prominent position and was considering removing it completely.

He said: ‘At the moment the tank is still in the shop but we’ve moved it.

‘I’m sensitive to people’s feelings.

‘But the vast majority of people want us to keep it and for us to keep supporting local businesses, which is the whole point of the shop.

‘I’m still mulling over whether to keep it. There are still lobsters in there; they’re really healthy. We’re just going to see what happens.

‘But customers will be able to buy it in plenty of other places along the Peel seafront.’

He said the lobsters were caught near Peel by a local, young shellfish fisherman, who he had wanted to support. 

Harrison said the tank was charcoal-filtered, maintained weekly and kept at salinity levels matching the surrounding sea.

And the water was maintained at between 7.1C and 7.4C.

He said the lobsters were delivered approximately every one to two weeks and were rotated through the tank, meaning they were not normally kept there for more than a fortnight.