Tony Hadley has been thanked by a Singaporean man who he helped to win a cash prize from a radio station after they claimed he had mispronounced the singer’s name.
The Spandau Ballet star reportedly stepped in to tell the station that Muhammad Shalehan had said his name correctly when answering a question which carried a 10,000 Singaporean dollar prize (£5,757).
During ITV’s Good Morning Britain With Lorraine Kelly, the pair came face-to-face during a video call during which the quiz contestant thanked Hadley for helping him get the decision reversed.
'You are my idol right now!'
Muhammad Shall-E-Han made headlines around the world after he mispronounced @TheTonyHadley's name in a radio quiz and nearly lost out on £5,000. Thankfully Tony stepped in to make sure he was awarded the full cash prize! 👏 pic.twitter.com/gkbZzEsuFw
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) May 26, 2020
Hadley said: “I suppose from both of our points of view, we didn’t expect this to go global.”
He added: “The ironic thing about this business with the radio station in Singapore – they are the sponsors of my concert on October 10, so when I come to collect my fee there might be a little bit less.”
The star added that when he got the message from Mr Shalehan he thought it was a “joke” or a “hoax” before realising that it was real.
“I listened to the radio tag and he said ‘Tony Hadley’, and I thought, ‘That sounds like me’,” he added.
During the ITV programme, Mr Shalehan said that Hadley is his “idol right now” and he will use the money to support his family after the birth of his fourth child.
He added that he was “over the moon” when he received the singer’s reply, adding that his hands were “literally trembling”.
Messages of support have subsequently been sent to him from countries including South Africa, Australia and the UK, he added.