'I would NEVER walk out on a job I love': Barker bashes the BBC
‘I would NEVER walk out on a job I love’: Sue Barker reveals the BBC told her to say it was HER idea to leave A Question of Sport when she was axed in ‘a refresh’ and replaced by Paddy McGuinness
- Barker hosted the popular show for 24 years before being axed by the BBC
- She now claims the BBC told her to say that she was walking away from the show
- Says she was replaced as part of a refresh when Paddy McGuinness came in
- Football pundit Mark Lawrenson’s also says his departure from the BBC was down to him being ’65 and a white male’
Sue Barker has become the latest star to hit out at the BBC over the way she was ditched as A Question of Sport host.
The 66-year-old former tennis star stood down after 24 years on the show, and today revealed she was asked to say the decision was her own – despite being told she would be replaced as part of a ‘refresh’.
‘It is such a shame because, I have to say, that the BBC had told us we were going. They wanted to refresh the programme and that is absolutely fine. Everyone has the right to do that. We don’t own the programme’, she said on BBC Breakfast.
‘I had had 24 amazing years working with the most incredible people. So we knew it was going to happen and it was just the way in which it happened and the way it was handled, and the way the BBC sort of wanted me to say that I was walking away from it.
‘And yet, I would never walk away from a job I love. I don’t mind being replaced. Absolutely fine. That happens. But it was just the way it was handled.
‘I think we regret the way it was handled. I think if we look back on it we could have handled it better. I think the BBC could have handled it better.
The departures of Sue Barker, Matt Dawson (left) and Phil Tufnell were announced in September 2020
Paddy McGuinness took over as part of a ‘refresh’
“It is just such a shame because I loved it. And I don’t look back on it badly just because of a couple of bad days and then some negative publicity, which I think affected quite a lot of people.”
The BBC announced her departure in September 2020, later revealing Paddy McGuinness as the new host. Team captains Matt Dawson and Phil Tufnell also left, to be replaced by Sam Quek and Ugo Monye.
Barker’s criticisms – months after stepping down as the face of the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage – come days after Mark Lawrenson’s claims that his departure from the BBC was down to him being ’65 and a white male’.
The former Liverpool defender had spent three decades with the corporation, including 25 years with Football Focus, before being told of the show’s format changes in March.
Mark Lawrenson said that his age and race played some part in his departure from the BBC
Lawrenson told The Sunday Times: ‘The Beeb are probably the worst at giving you bad news. It was just, “We are going on the road next season with Focus. We don’t think it is really something for you.”
‘I haven’t watched the programme since to see if they have gone on the road. They forget you are an ex-footballer and could get subbed or dropped or transferred. Somebody could say to me, “I’m sorry, it’s not good news.’ And I would say, “OK, just tell me what it is.”
‘I just wish they had said to me at the start of my contract last year, ‘You’ve had a great run, thanks very much and you are not working next season.”‘
Share this article
Source: Read Full Article