Game, set and match for Sue as she quits Wimbledon TV hot seat aged 66
She tells Mail: This year will be my last
AS the face of the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage, she has been a cheerfully reassuring presence in our living rooms every summer for 30 years.
Now Sue Barker has decided it is time to hang up her microphone – so this year’s championships, starting on June 27, will be her last.
The 66-year-old presenter was offered a three-year extension by the BBC to stay.
But after several months of careful consideration, she has opted to retire while ‘still on top’ of her game having forged a career as one of the country’s leading TV presenters,
‘Basically I just feel the time is right. It has been my dream job and I have loved every minute of it, working with so many great colleagues who I am going to miss so much,’ she told the Daily Mail.
‘When I started I never thought I would manage 30 years. I had actually made up my mind to leave in 2017 because the hours were becoming very long and quite challenging. That would have been 25 years and seemed a good time, but I am so glad I made the decision to stay on. I’m very happy to be leaving with no regrets and on my own terms while I am still on top of the job, it just feels like the right time to go and leave it to others.’
Miss Barker revealed that the death of her mother aged 100 this year was a key factor. ‘My mum was always so interested in my broadcasting career and we would speak every evening,’ she said.
‘When something like that happens it does make you reassess life, which is another reason I think this is the right time.’
As well as Wimbledon, Miss Barker has fronted BBC coverage of the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Grand National.
She co-presented coverage of Prince Edward’s wedding to Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999 and for 24 years she hosted the Question of Sport quiz show, before being replaced by Paddy McGuinness last year amid a row about ageism.
Prior to becoming a trailblazer for female sportscasters, Miss Barker was a top tennis player.
She was once ranked No3 in the world, winning the French Open in 1976 and reaching the semi-final at Wimbledon in 1977.
She famously dated Cliff Richard in the 1980s. The singer has said he came close to proposing. She is now married to landscape gardener Lance Tankard.
Miss Barker said that, despite the controversial ban on players from Russia and Belarus over the war in Ukraine, ‘I still think it is going to be a great Wimbledon’.
She looks forward to becoming a spectator. ‘I definitely will be going back to Wimbledon every year – above all I love tennis,’ she said. ‘At the moment it is difficult to watch all the matches I want. I actually love the matches on the outside courts.’
Her many standout moments as a presenter include seeing Andy Murray become Britain’s first male champion in 77 years in 2013 – and she won plaudits for her skilful handling of an oncourt interview in 2012, when Murray broke down after losing the final to Roger Federer. But Miss Barker added: ‘I don’t want to look back too much yet on my time because there is still this year to come, I have a job to do and I am really looking forward to it.’
BBC directorgeneral Tim Davie said: ‘Sue Barker has been the face and voice of Wimbledon for three decades.