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Who is Carol Vorderman?
She’s been a ubiquitous fixture on British TV for decades, having first appeared on the Channel 4 game show Countdown, and subsequently presented various shows for other broadcasters, such as Better Homes and the Pride of Britain awards for ITV.
She guest-hosted the shows Have I Got News for You and Lorraine on multiple occasions and was a presenter on the ITV talk show Loose Women from 2011-2014.
Vorderman has also appeared on a handful of reality TV shows, including Strictly Come Dancing (2004), I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here (2016), and The Great Celebrity Bake-Off (2020).
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She has released books on detox diets and has had school textbooks released under her name. She has also launched a number of Sudoku products.
In 2018, she joined BBC Radio Wales to host a Sunday show, before it was moved to Saturday mornings the following year.
Why has she left that BBC show?
The BBC recently published new social media rules for stars and staff, including a strengthened so-called “Lineker clause”, to try and stop high-profile presenters from expressing strong views on party politics.
Vorderman is a vocal critic of the British government, calling its members “a lying bunch of greedy, corrupt, destructive, hateful, divisive, gaslighting crooks” earlier this year.
In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, Vorderman said that although she respects the BBC’s new guidelines, she will “not be silenced” by them.
She explained that although her show is “lighthearted with no political content”, because it is a weekly show in her name, the new rules would apply to “all and any content” she posts all year round.
“Since those non-negotiable changes to my radio contract were made, I’ve ultimately found that I’m not prepared to lose my voice on social media, change who I am, or lose the ability to express the strong beliefs I hold about the political turmoil this country finds itself in,” she said.
“My decision has been to continue to criticise the current UK government for what it has done to the country which I love – and I’m not prepared to stop. I was brought up to fight for what I believe in, and I will carry on.”
She added that although she is “sad to have to leave the wonderful friends” she has made at BBC Radio Wales, she wishes them and all her listeners “all the love in the world”.
What did the BBC say following her departure?
In a statement to The Irish Times, the BBC said that “Carol has been a presenter on BBC Radio Wales since 2018. We’d like to thank her for her work and contribution to the station over the past five years.”
What do the BBC guidelines actually stipulate?
They say that presenters on flagship shows must not endorse or attack a political party, criticise the character of individual politicians in the UK, or take up an official role in campaigning groups.
Why have they been put in place?
Well, because sports broadcaster and former professional footballer Gary Lineker caused turmoil within the BBC this year when he refused to apologise for tweets about the language used by the British home secretary, Suella Braverman, to describe asylum seekers. He was then suspended by the BBC’s director general Tim Davie before being reinstated after talent turmoil ensued, with many commentators and pundits taking Lineker’s side and refusing to work until he was allowed back.
Until that happened, Match of the Day, which Lineker usually hosts, was condensed from an 80-minute highlight reel peppered with insights from commentators to a 20-minute broadcast of game clips pieced together with no voiceover.
On the plus side, viewers came in their droves to watch, with an extra half million people tuning in amid the row.
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