Wish she was my dentist! BBC pundit in sexism row
BBC commentator Andrew Castle is embroiled in a sexism row after being accused of making ‘horribly creepy’ comments about Marcus Willis’s girlfriend.
Castle, 52, was reporting on Wednesday’s match between Britain’s unlikely new tennis hero and 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.
But he appeared distracted by Willis’s glamorous blonde girlfriend Jennifer Bate, a 30-year-old dentist, saying: ‘It’s a pity my dentist doesn’t look like that.’
Some viewers branded his comments ‘sexist’ on social media and complained to the BBC.
But Miss Bate herself was unperturbed. She wrote on Twitter: ‘It’s disappointing that some mistake funny, light-hearted comments for being sexist. I find it hilarious, no offence taken!’
She later added: ‘We all interpret things differently. I’m not offended, and won’t spend time wasted on innocent comments.’
Miss Bate has been credited with persuading world number 772 Willis not to give up on his career and was spotted cheering him on throughout the highly anticipated match, which he lost.
The accomplished mother-oftwo, who is a former beauty queen, left school with ten A* GCSEs and 5 A-levels and is now a dental surgeon at a surgery in Warwick. Twitter user Henna Khan-Hussain said Mr Castle’s commentary was ‘patronising, rude [and] just embarrassing’. Another viewer wrote: ‘Inappropriate comments. And BBC meant to be clamping down on outdated sexist attitudes?’
Steph Driver said: ‘Shut up, thanks Andrew. Stick to the tennis eh?’ Jen Martin added: ‘Any chance Andrew Castle could cut out the horribly creepy sexist remarks?’
At first Castle, a former British number one tennis player, refused to apologise, writing to one of his critics on Twitter: ‘Brilliant. I knew there would be someone just you who would comment. Earnest, humourless and probably no fun at all. Regards.’
But he backtracked hours later, saying: ‘Obviously never mean to upset anyone. If I did then I apologise.’ The BBC said it had received a number of complaints.
Yesterday fellow BBC commentator John McEnroe also faced criticism for his ‘arrogant’ and ‘patronising’ commentary during Willis’s clash with Federer.
The 57-year-old former world number one is said to have made comments such as ‘who does he think he is?’ and to have dismissed Willis as a ‘club player’.
McEnroe is also said to have questioned how Willis was able to afford a coach, considering that until Wimbledon he had earned just £258 in prize money this year.
Willis’s coach Matt Smith said: ‘Disappointing [commentary] and completely the wrong tone.’
He added: ‘John clearly hasn’t done his homework.’ Willis’s fans also took to his defence, branding McEnroe a ‘tennis snob’. Natalie Davis said: ‘I cannot believe the disgraceful commentary from John McEnroe he should be ashamed. Rude and condescending.’
The BBC confirmed it also received complaints about McEnroe, but the broadcaster described his comments as ‘light-hearted’.