TikTok influencer’s Wales being part of England remark sparks row | UK News

A TikTok influencer sparked a furious backlash online when she said Wales should not be a separate country to England at the World Cup.

Tennessee Thresher, from Surrey, went viral after telling her podcast that Wales was “only two-and-a-half hours away from London” and shouldn’t be its own country at next year’s tournament.

The clip was heavily recirculated on TikTok alongside images and videos of Welsh landscapes and text explaining Welsh history, including Traitors star Elen Wyn saying “this is why” she promotes the Welsh language.

The creator, who has more than 1.4m followers on TikTok, has since apologised and said she had “educated herself on Welsh history”.

But her opinion ignited the fire among many Welsh dragons as they quickly jumped to defend Wales as its own country with its own culture – so why do her comments matter so much?

The World Cup was expanded to include 48 teams for the first time at the 2026 tournament and Ms Thresher was making a case to streamline it by merging England and Wales.

Football aside, Ms Thresher admitted she looked at Wales and thought “it is in England,” before adding: “I think someone has to have a long hard think about Wales not being part of England.”

This prompted users to say she had a lack of knowledge and sensitivity for Welsh history.

Ms Thresher has not responded to a request for a comment.

“I don’t really care about her apology… I think everyone should respond by raising awareness, acknowledging our history and bringing light to our culture and celebrating everything we have survived,” said Elen, from Anglesey.

“Against so many odds of being suppressed and discouraged, we still survived that.”

Elen said it “doesn’t really matter” whether the comments were made out of malice or ignorance.

“What I love most about Wales is that anytime something like this happens we all come together,” she added.

Elen said she was passionate about “securing the continuation of protecting and recovering our language and culture”.

“It’s actually an older language than English, which tells us this is a language which carries stories, music, poetry and community.”

The Welsh language was spoken by about 90% of the population in the 16th Century but, according to ONS figures, only 27.2% people spoke it as of June this year.

Lili Hope, 22, from Newport, said the issue was much deeper than the World Cup and called Ms Thresher’s views “harmful and hurtful”.

She added: “The whole intention of colonisation was to erase Welsh identity, this further eradicates it… it discredits a whole nation.

“It’s important to understand the historical weight behind comments made.”

Lili said her mum received the Welsh Not in school in the 1970s and was punished for speaking Welsh.

The Welsh Not – or Welsh Stick – was employed across schools in the 19th Century to discourage children from speaking in their native tongue.

This small piece of wood was given in turn to individuals overheard talking in Welsh, and whoever was wearing it by the end of the week was often punished.

Welsh was not an institutionalised or official language so it wasn’t considered a suitable medium for education during the Victorian heyday of the British Empire.

As a result, Lili said she cannot speak the Welsh language, “like many others”.

England colonised Wales across centuries and the uneasy relationship between the countries has long shaped Wales as a nation.

The Norman invasion of 1066 saw King Edward I of England subdue Wales, leading to the establishment of the title of Prince of Wales in 1284.

Wales’ existence “officially” began as part of England under Henry VIII’s Act of Union in 1536 but it is believed Wales has been inhabited since 250,000 BC.

The Welsh language is the oldest in the UK, with its origins dating back 4,000 years, and the word Cymry was used to describe its people from the 7th Century.

Wales became a part of the United Kingdom in 1707, which solidified its integration with England, but Welsh people retained a distinct culture and sense of identity.

In the 19th Century, the English government felt that speaking Welsh held people back and the rise of English in education and politics saw a significant decline in the Welsh language.

The Welsh Language Act in 1993 marked a turning point, giving the language equal status with English in public life and government affairs.

“One moment on a podcast has sparked up an entire nation,” said Cai Rhys, 26, from Cardiff, whose video response has racked up 700,000 views.

He said the lack of knowledge about Wales was all too common and was “the perspective of a lot of English people”.

“We have all experienced it, you’re on holiday and you’re asked ‘where are you from?Wales? Is that England?’

“Wales has always been seen as sister to England, but in reality it’s its own country, it has its own heritage, its own language.”

Cai described Ms Thresher’s apology as a “win” as she has since educated herself more about Wales.

“We’re seeing history lessons on Welsh TikTok which is beautiful to see.”

Cai described his viral moment as being one of the best moments of his life, as he is the “proudest Welsh man”.

“I’ve never had this much passion, it’s so powerful.”