Garrick expels member who called for females to be let in

THE Garrick Club has allegedly expelled one of its members in a row over admission of women.

The gentleman’s club, which was founded in 1831, has maintained a strict men-only rule despite prominent members including Hugh Bonneville and Stephen Fry being in favour of welcoming women.

A member pushing for reform of the men-only rule has now been ejected from the Garrick for “ungentlemanly behaviour”, the Guardian reported.

According to the newspaper, former theatre producer Colin Brough was expelled after firing off a string of emails to fellow members calling for women to be admitted.

Mr Brough was reportedly summoned to a meeting with the club’s leadership and ejected for displaying “conduct unbecoming of a gentleman” by sending the emails to fellow members, rather than his views on reforms to the membership rules.

The incident is the latest development in a long-running row over the club’s refusal to admit women to its membership, which has included Charles Dickens, HG Wells, JM Barrie,

AA Milne, Kingsley Amis, and Sir Laurence Olivier.

In 2011, Joanna Lumley successfully applied to become a member after the club showed signs of easing its stance, having allowed female guests to sit in its Coffee Room, and visit the cocktail bar before 9 o’clock in the evening.

In 2020, lingerie brand CEO Emily Bendell launched a legacy challenge in an attempt to end the long-standing prohibition on female members.

She told The Telegraph at the time: “This is where QC’S, politicians, journalists are – people of influence and power over our country, right in the middle of London, and it’s not okay that there’s no good reason, in my opinion, that women shouldn’t be members…

“We wouldn’t accept an exclusion like that on the grounds of race, so why should we accept it on gender?”

Michael Beloff KC, who had advised the club on its female prohibition, was reported to have warned members in 2022 that he could face a lawsuit if it maintained its male-only rule.

Polling of the members in 2023 revealed a majority of 51 per cent in favour of admitting women.

The Garrick has been contacted for comment.