'Gobsmacked' Sue Barker dropped from BBC's Question of Sport in 'diversity' push says host

express.co.uk:

BBC's Question of Sport in 1997 and continued on the show for an extraordinary 24 years alongside team captains Phil Tuffnell and Matt Dawson.The ex-tennis player was replaced by Paddy McGuiness last year, as the former host claimed it was in a bid to push for more "diversity" on the show, in the hopes of attracting a younger audience.Rumours began to swirl in 2020 about the trio's future on the quiz programme Question of Sport, but at the time Sue assumed she and her colleagues would get a further extension of the show.However, Sue admitted the three of them were "suddenly all called in to separate meetings with management", as reported by the MailOnline from an extract taken from her autobiography, Calling The Shots: My Autobiography by Sue Barker.She admitted: "A few TV producer friends had seen the BBC tender document and couldn't believe my name wasn't on it."Apparently the BBC wanted to refresh the show — with more diversity and more appeal to a younger audience."I was gobsmacked.

How did they think I wasn't going to hear about this?" she added.Despite accepting the BBC's decision, learning she would be leaving the show, the decision left Sue "wretchedly sad" and the boys "devastated".The ex-presenter claimed it took two weeks before their final episode to receive any form of communication regarding their roles and when they did it was an email in which BBC management said they were "sorry for not being in touch" and that's when the "anger set in".Sue added that three days later she was told the news of their exit was about to break and that she was "sent a statement that the BBC wanted me to approve immediately, saying the three of us had decided to step aside".As it wasn't their decision at all Sue said they.