Rita Ora pulls out of Jonathan Ross show after 30th birthday furore

Rita Ora has pulled out of an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show after hosting a 30th birthday party during lockdown.

ITV confirmed to The Independent that Ora will not be appearing on this Saturday’s show.

The singer has been replaced by comedian Joel Dommett on the line-up, which also includes Michael Palin, Davina McCall, Kylie Minogue and Mo Gilligan.

It comes after the pop star apologised for her “spur of the moment” decision to mark the birthday with friends, days before the coronavirus lockdown ended.

The singer admitted she had been at a “small gathering” with friends and said it was an “inexcusable error of judgment”.

Reports suggest the star is now trying to work out if one of her friends tipped off the press and police to her gathering at the Casa Cruz restaurant in Notting Hill on Saturday.

Scotland Yard confirmed that officers had been called to an address in west London on Saturday night amid a suspected breach of Covid regulations.

In a post on her Instagram story, Ritual singer Ora said: “Hello all, I attended a small gathering with some friends to celebrate my 30th birthday.

“It was a spur of the moment decision made with the misguided view that we were coming out of lockdown and this would be OK…

“I’m deeply sorry for breaking the rules and in turn understand that this puts people at risk.

“This was a serious and inexcusable error of judgment.

“Given the restrictions, I realise how irresponsible these actions were and I take full responsibility.

“I feel particularly embarrassed knowing first-hand how hard people have worked to combat this terrible illness and being fully aware of the sacrifices that people and businesses have made to help keep us all safe.

“Even though this won’t make it right, I want to sincerely apologise.”

Ora has volunteered to pay any fine imposed - which could be up to £10,000 - as a result of her actions.

It follows reports of other gatherings organised by celebrities, prompting a reminder from Downing Street that coronavirus rules apply to everyone.

Downing Street stressed that coronavirus rules apply to celebrities along with everyone else and that enforcement is a matter for the police.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “It’s important that everybody in society sets an example by following the rules – that is for every member of the public, including celebrities.”

“Throughout the pandemic we’ve been clear that it’s vital for everyone to abide by the rules in order to suppress the virus and reduce the transmission, but enforcement matter is for the police.

“The Prime Minister has been clear of the need for everybody across the country to continue to abide by the rules in order to reduce the transmission of the virus, but it’s up to police to decide what action to take.”

Earlier this week, actor Laurence Fox faced a backlash online for a tweet in which he claimed to have had people over for dinner and appeared to criticise the NHS.

“Just had a large group over to lunch and we hugged and ate and talked and put the world to rights,” he said.

“If the @nhs can’t cope, then the @nhs isn’t fit for purpose.”

The Jonathan Ross Show airs at 9.30pm on Saturday 5 December.