Lily Allen defends TMS’s Aggers via Twitter

The cricket-mad pop singer Lily Allen has rushed to defend the BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew against claims he acted like a "pervert" while interviewing her on Radio 4's Test Match Special on Saturday.

'Aggers', as he known by cricket fans, chatted to Allen on day three of the final Ashes Test at the Oval, about how her cricket-loving father Keith Allen and brother Alfie had got her into the game. The 24-year-old, who is well-known for her partying, also admitted it was Freddie Flintoff's drunken exploits at Downing Street four years ago which had inspired her to get more seriously involved.

First indications that Allen (pictured above at the Oval with pals 'Crispin Firestarter' and 'Wilma Bilma') was a fan came thanks to her postings on Twitter, which grew ever more lively as the Ashes progressed. By the time she was due to perform at the V Festival on Saturday, she appeared to be spending all her spare time either watching the cricket or tweeting about it.

Agnew, a fellow tweeter, contacted her through the micro-blogging site to invite her on to TMS and the two of them struck up an instant rapport.

Someone who was not so moved by the pair's repartee, however, was the Observer sports columnist Will Buckley, who poked fun at Agnew's "amorous ambitions", saying the "salivating" and "pervy" 49-year-old father "attempted to walk the dangerously thin line between benevolent uncle and desperate middle-aged man panting on the edge of the dance floor".

Agnew responded by writing on his Twitter page: "I gave Will Buckley 24 hrs to apologise for calling me a pervert, and he has declined." He also posted the email address of the Observer's sports editor, telling those "moved by this" to express their outrage over the article.

Yesterday Allen waded into the row, writing on her Twitter page that: "[I] really think this Will Buckley guy should apologise to @aggerscricket, he was nothing but kind and gentlemanly to me during our interview. I don't know 1 person that agrees with the Observer on this one.” And she added: "Maybe this is Buckley's attempt at creating a name for himself as the demise of the Observer Monthlys (including Sport) are imminent."

Buckley's article has also been criticised by Observer readers, attracting more than 300 comments on the newspaper's website. One typical post reads: "What a nasty little article, looking for malevolence where none exists." Buckley is yet to apologise. ·