Charles Bronson and Richard Madeley are in the weirdest legal battle ever

It might sound like an Onion headline or something from one of those nightmares where you’re kind of awake but mainly still asleep, but: Charles Bronson appears to be suing Richard Madeley. 

That’s Charles “most violent prisoner in Britain” Bronson and Richard “and Judy” Madeley, yes. 

According to The Sun, Madeley is being sued for defamation after wrongly claiming on Good Morning Britain that Bronson - who now prefers to be called Charles Salvador - had attacked a governor in 2016 during an interview with Salvador’s new fiancee, Paula Williamson.

“He keeps reoffending,” Madeley insisted. “We have his charge sheet. In his last incident he attacked a prison governor last year.”

“He’s a bad ’un and he’s got a lot of form.”

Turns out he was wrong, though, and GMB has issued a retraction after saying a researcher had given Madeley “the wrong charge sheet”. 

“We mistakenly stated that Mr Salvador had attacked a prison officer in 2016,” said a spokesperson.  “This was incorrect. We are happy to make this clarification.”

The show has also “acknowledged receipt of a notice of legal action” from Salvador.

Charles Bronson is one of the UK’s most notorious prisoners: after an initial seven year stint in 1974, he ended up spending nearly 30 years in prison after beating up prison guards, taking people hostage and armed robbery. He’s now an artist, and a collection of paintings depicting rapists and murderers he’d encountered in prison including Harold Shipman, Ian Brady and Fred West sold to a private collector for £545,000 earlier this year. 

(Image: Rex)