A Mum has accused Peter Andre of ruining her Mother’s Day, after she was shunted off a kiddies so that the star could ride it for his TV series.
The pop star was at Twycross Zoo in Warwickshire last Sunday, filming for his new ITV2 reality show.
But the mum claims the celebrity visit marred her Mother’s Day after she, her husband and their two children, aged five and two, were blocked from riding a miniature train so Andre could film on it.
The 35 year-old mum, who asked not to be named, said: “We’d joined the queue for the train but then a staff member said it was closing for an hour, as Peter Andre needed it for filming.
“My husband argued that we were paying customers, not celebrities, but they didn’t even seem to be listening.
“Frustrated, we just stood to one side and talked about what we were going to do next.”
Chart-topper Andre and his entourage, including manager Claire Powell, eventually turned up in a coach buggy, with minders and camera crew in tow.
The mum added: ”Peter spent five to 10 minutes waiting in the buggy while crowds milled around.
“At one point I tried to take a picture but was warned by his minder: `No pictures. You do not have his permission and you cannot sell them or put them on Youtube.’
“I was angry at how rude he was, especially as my mother was also told to `move out of the way’, while they made a path to the train for Peter, although I’m not sure if that was by a minder or TV person.”
Andre boarded the train and then drove it for TV cameras before moving on to another part of the popular zoo, which was offering free entry for all mothers – but the long delay had ruined the visit for the West Midlands family.
The mum said: “To be fair to Peter, he seemed friendly and waved to the crowds and said hello.
“But by the time the crew had finished filming him driving the train, our children were too tired and we decided to go. It started raining heavily soon after.
“It had been an upsetting incident on what should have been a lovely Mother’s Day.
“I couldn’t understand why Twycross put the needs of a celebrity ahead of the families who had paid the money to get in. I still like Peter but his minders and TV crew need to learn how to treat and talk to people properly and not upset mums on Mother’s Day.”
Her 40-year-old husband said: `I’m not one for complaining but I felt very strongly about the way we had been treated.
“Closing the train, one of the most popular attractions at the zoo, for a celebrity seemed all wrong.
“Why couldn’t he have just queued with the rest of us and then filmed what he needed to film? It’s not like he needed the whole train.”
He later made an official complaint to the zoo about their treatment and has now received an apology.
A spokeswoman for Twycross Zoo said: “On Mothering Sunday we had 3,626 visitors to Twycross Zoo and this was the only complaint we have received. The vast majority of people were unaffected by the 15 minute closure of the miniature railway.
“In addition, most people were thrilled to have the opportunity to see, and in some cases meet, Peter Andre as we know from Twitter how excited people were.
“We are however extremely sorry that this family were unable to go on the ride dur ing that 15 minutes, but we very much hope they en joyed the rest of the facilities Twycross Zoo has to offer.”
Andre’s management was unavailable for comment yesterday (SUN).
