Oh FFS… how many more times am I to be subjected to this linguistic atrocity?
“I was sat with Maura Higgins and Danny Jones at the star-studded BRITs Afterparty…”
No; you were seated OR you were sitting next to these people.
Of course, this comes from the Daily Mail, so expectations are low. Even so…
“I Thought This Country Spawned The Fucking Language, And So Far Nobody Seems To Speak It.”
Truer words were never spoken.
I can understand why cooks and waiters and other food prep people would need a terse, easy to say word for placing the food on the plate in the approved eye-catching way in preparation for serving the customer (Plate the food, Plating the food), but outside the industry? Why is “Sat” acceptable under any circumstances? As you say, “Seated”, or “Sitting” is correct. Perhaps if 6’4″ 350# Bubba picked you up by the scruff of your neck and placed you in your chair, you could say “I was Set there.”
As Ogden Nash lamented Sixty-five years ago (!),
“Farewell, farewell to my beloved language,
Once English, now a vile orangutanguage.”
He has not been available for comment for a number of years since then, so we can only imagine his opinions now.