Bee Gees fans in uproar as Ben Shephard makes a massive Gibb gaffe on Tipping Point
1 March 2022, 10:37
The Bee Gees - The brothers’ distinctive singing style
How much do you know about The Bee Gees' little brother Andy Gibb?
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Quiz shows are a lot harder than they look. You can know the answers from the comfort of your home, but with the lights up and pressure on in a TV studio, it's easy for answers to slip your mind.
That's for the contestants though. With their media training and answer cards, you'd expect the hosts to be relatively blunder-free.
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But viewers of ITV's Tipping Point have suggested that when he was correcting the contestants on last night's show (February 28), quizmaster Ben Shephard wrote the Bee Gees younger sibling Andy Gibb out of existence.
The question being asked was: "Which of the three Gibb brothers who made up the Bee Gees was NOT a twin?"
The core trio of the band included twins Robin and Maurice Gibb, with the correct answer being their older brother Barry.
Contestant Tracy said: "I think I remember there was a Rob or Bob, a Robin Gibb. I'll play and I'll say Robin."
Asked what her answer would have been, the other contestant Karen replied: "I'd forgotten about Robin, I could remember is it Andy and Maurice? I might have gone Maurice."
Ben then told the pair: "It was Barry actually. Barry was the brother you didn't name, there is no Andy. Robin and Maurice were the twins."
That reply left all the Bee Gees fans at home open-mouthed.
When he said "there is no Andy", had Ben forgotten about the existence of independent singer, songwriter, actor, and younger brother of the Bee Gees, Andy Gibb?
Charitably, Ben might well have meant "there is no Andy [in the Bee Gees]", but some viewers certainly thought he had written Andy out of existence, as you can see from the tweets below.
@TippingPointITV Beyond angry (slightly irrational maybe) that Ben Shepherd just denied the existence of Andy Gibb “there never was an Andy Gibb” Get your facts right!
— judy pitt (@judypitt4) February 28, 2022
There wasn't an Andy Gibb ... interesting comment from Ben on #TippingPoint ! pic.twitter.com/OQZYllQF6A
— JasonW🦁 (@VillaJase) February 28, 2022
#tippingpoint #benshepherd
— nickih1 (@nicki1712) March 1, 2022
Watching yesterday's tipping point question on Gibb brothers (who wasn't a twin) one contestant mentioned Andy Gibb & Ben said there was no Andy. But there was,he was younger brother, question wasn't really correct contestant was wrong didnt affect end
@benshephard there was an Andy Gibb who sadly died but he wasn’t part if the Bee Gees group @TippingPointITV
— Julie Forster (@jools4949) February 28, 2022
@benshepard always acts as though he knows all the answers and the contestants are thick...but today you were very wrong, saying there was no Andy Gibb...bad mistake!!#tippingpoint
— Jennifer Powell (@jennypowell47) February 28, 2022
@benshephard @TippingPointITV
— Lesley Hobbs (@wendyover) February 28, 2022
Definitely was a 4th Gibb brother - Andyhttps://t.co/0a5x56vavn › wiki
Andy Gibb - Wikipedia
So watching @TippingPointITV today,and sorry @benshephard there was a bee gees brother called Andy gibb! He died in 1988
— cindy sanderson (@cindylee160672) February 28, 2022
@benshephard just watched tipping point... how can you say there was no Andy Gibb?? Yes there was.. younger brother to Barry, Maurice and Robin. Doh!!!
— nina milton NINJA (@ninjamilton) February 28, 2022
No Andy Gibb? Who was that impostor pretending to be their younger brother then @benshephard?#tippingpoint
— Andy Davison - Seriously Annoying 💙🕷️🌹🇪🇺 (@oiyouandy) February 28, 2022
Born in 1958 in Manchester, Andy Gibb was a solo star in his own right, scoring six Top 10 singles in the US.
After his early years in Australia, he moved back to the UK in 1967, while his older brothers were globetrotting as the Bee Gees.
Andy struggled with clinical depression and health issues, and he died on March 10, 1988 from myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart caused by a recent viral infection. He was only 30.