Rylan Clark's surprise duet with Michelle Visage after controversial immigration remarks

Rylan Clark seemed unfazed by the recent controversy surrounding his comments on immigration as he stepped out in high spirits at Radio 2 in the Park on Friday.

The presenter and singer, 36, hit the stage alongside his long-time friend Michelle Visage, 56. The pair delighted fans with a surprise duet of the Grease classic Summer Nights.

The performance came just days after Rylan faced a wave of backlash over remarks he made about the UK’s handling of asylum seekers - comments that went viral and social media andfuelled hundreds of Ofcom complaints.

The former X Factor star caused a stir after sharing his worries about how the asylum system is being handled during a political discussion on ITV's This Morning.

Rylan began his speech saying, “This country is built on immigration, legal immigration. You know that a lot of the nurses, the doctors that have saved my mum’s life have come over here from other countries, are living a great life, they’re paying into this tax system, they’re helping this country thrive."

He went on, “I find it absolutely insane that all these people, one risk in their lives coming across the channel like that, they are but two, when they get here it does seem, and I think this is why a lot of Labour voters as well are now sitting there going there’s something wrong here, it seems ‘Welcome, Come on in’. This is the narrative we’re being fed.

“Here’s the hotel, here’s the phones, here’s the iPad, here’s the NHS in reception of your hotel, here’s three meals a day, here’s a games room in the hotel. Have a lovely time and welcome," Rylan added.

Rylan went on to express concern for those already living in the UK who are facing hardship, including rough sleepers and veterans. “And then there’s people that have lived here all their lives that are struggling.

"There are people living on the streets, veterans, all of this. Now this isn’t me getting on my soapbox, because, let me be honest, everyone’s gonna have an opinion about this, and you’re gonna upset someone some which way.

“I believe that something major needs to be done about this. The money that it’s costing us, the amount of people that are in this country that we have no idea who they are, what they’ve done, what they’re capable of and clearly, we see a lot of it in the press at the moment – what some are doing, it’s not all, what some are doing to people in this country.”

Following the backlash, Rylan broke his silence on Instagram, saying, "You can be pro immigration and against illegal routes. You can support trans people and have the utmost respect for women.

“You can be heterosexual and still support gay rights. The list continues. Stop with this putting everyone in a box exercise and maybe have conversations instead of shouting on twitter.”

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