Toksvig accuses BBC of sexism over job failure
BROADCASTER Sandi Toksvig has said the BBC turned her down for the job of Have I Got News For You host – because she is a woman.
The presenter, 57, said she was asked to audition for the role 25 years ago. “They made two pilots – one with me and one with Angus Deayton,” she said of the BBC1 show.
“I was told by the producers that they preferred my version, but the channel decided they couldn’t have a woman in charge.” She said she had been angered by the response, and added: “It also made me feel inadequate and question whether I was really up to it.” Toksvig, who presents Radio 4’s The News Quiz, was later asked to appear as a panellist on the satirical show, which was originally broadcast on BBC2. “I thought Angus was very good and he’s an extremely nice chap. But I would not have been caught with either prostitutes or cocaine, so... possibly I would have been a better bet in the long run,” she said. Nine years ago Toksvig landed the job of host of The News Quiz, a position from which she is now stepping down.
“I think I was daunted by it. Even nine years ago having a woman in charge of the show seemed quite radical,” she said.
She said the morning after her first outing as presenter, the producer rang her to say, “‘Good news: there hasn’t been a single complaint,’ and what he meant was no complaints about a woman presenting.” She said of her reason for stepping down: “I’m not giving up broadcasting. It’s just, as a presenter, I can’t be seen as overtly political and I do find that restricting.”
Toksvig is one of the founding members of the new Women’s Equality Party, which plans to field candidates in the 2020 general election.
She said: “I have made jokes over and over again about politics and I’ve had enough.
“This election, I decided that instead of making jokes about politics I need to take part in it and therefore I can’t make jokes and participate.”