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Noel Edmonds slammed after booting out 17 workers at his New Zealand vineyard with just one day’s notice
The venue's website claims they are taking a 'well-earned break' over winter, citing expansion plans
TV star Noel Edmonds has been accused of booting out 17 workers with just a day’s notice — as he was seen posing in odd shoes.
Furious staff claim they were “blindsided” when the ex-Swap Shop host, 75, shut his New Zealand pub and winery for their winter.
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Noel and third wife Liz have since flown to the UK, and a photo emerged yesterday of him wearing two different shoes on the Isle of Man.
He beamed while holding an ice cream at Laxey Beach Stop Cafe — seemingly oblivious to his footwear faux pas.
But sacked staff at his River Haven vineyard and Bugger Inn boozer in Ngatimoti were less happy.
One said: “Emotions are very high.
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“It came right out of the blue. We had a meeting a week before where Noel asked for our ideas for winter.
“At 4pm on the Saturday, April 27, one of the managers took a group of us into a back room and said, ‘Tomorrow is your last day’. We never saw Noel.”
Another said they were booted out of his pub as they drowned their sorrows.
They claimed: “The venue manager told us we would all have a drink at the Bugger Inn that evening using our tip money.
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“I think we’d had one round when another of Noel’s bosses told us to go.
“He said, ‘Get the f*** out, none of you are welcome here’.
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“The next day Noel appeared and was cracking jokes, but there was no apology. No one has been told anything about future work. It’s disgusting.”
Ex-Deal or No Deal host Noel, worth around £85million, moved to New Zealand in 2019 with former make-up artist Liz Davies.
They launched a network of radio stations near Auckland before moving to remote Ngatimoti in 2022.
Another former worker said: “Before all this it was actually great, and Noel and Liz were brilliant. We would all have group hugs in the mornings and every night. We were so close, that’s why it’s so sad.”
The River Haven website says staff are taking a “well-earned break” over winter, citing expansion plans.
Noel has been contacted for comment.
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