Western Daily Press (Saturday)
FAREWELL TO THE BEST-KNOWN FACE IN HORSE RACING
FRANKIE Dettori paid tribute to a “larger-than-life character” who was “very knowledgeable about racing” following the news of John McCririck’s death at the age of 79.
Dettori is one of the genuine household names in racing, a tag that McCririck also carried, and the pair enjoyed many moments together over the years, as they struck up a good friendship.
“I met him for the first time when I was very young. I was 16 and I was an apprentice. He was a big part of my racing life since I started,” Dettori told PA.
“He was very flamboyant and controversial, but I always got on really well with him. We did a few things together and he will be missed.
“He did put on a bit of a show, but underneath it all he worked very hard and was very knowledgeable about racing.”
Multiple champion jumps rider Sir Tony McCoy added his memories of ‘Big Mac’.
“John was just about the most recognisable figure in horse racing when I came to England, people had only just heard of Frankie Dettori, so it was John or Lester Piggott,” said McCoy.
“That says a lot about him to say that he wasn’t a trainer, owner or jockey. He had attitude, he had a voice and said what he thought, he
wasn’t frightened of upsetting somebody.
“He was very good at promoting the sport, he was a very bright man, well educated and, while he had an opinion, what you have to say is he tried to be constructive. He was a punters’ man, that’s what he was there for.
“I thought he was a bit shy off camera, quietly spoken. At first he was the sort of man you’d have to go up to to talk to rather than the other way and I used to think it was arrogance or ignorance, but soon realised he was a bit shy. I never watched Big Brother, but flicked it on a couple of times when he was in there and when he was walking around in those white pants he certainly left an impression!”
Derek Thompson worked with McCririck for over 20 years on Channel 4 Racing and afforded him the highest compliment.
“Apart from the great guy that he was on TV, he was the most professional guy I ever worked with,” said Thompson.
“He did everything twice, in two racecards, and had two watches. When I asked him why, he said, ‘in case I lose a racecard and in case my watch stops’, and looked at me as if I’d asked an incredibly stupid question.
“He was man who had a love of racing, he was a former journalist of the year and whenever I was in trouble on live TV, I could go to him and he would help me out.
“He also came up with the phrase ‘The Morning Line’ after Channel 4 had been asked to come up with a programme on a Saturday morning.”
Bookmaker Barry Dennis was a close friend of McCririck and a popular figure on The Morning Line with his ‘Barry’s Bismarck’ slot.
He said: “We were great friends and I’m even tearful about it now funnily enough. We spent lots of good times together at cricket and at social functions all over the world.
“He was very soft and caring. If my wife was ill he would be ringing up and asking how she is. The buffoonery was his television image and it worked. He was a character.
“The best two people known in racing were Frankie Dettori and John McCririck. They are the two people in racing that everybody knows. On television we had the love-hate relationship, but really it was all love.
“He loved entertaining me at The Ivy and we used to walk in there as bold as brass.
“He was always a guest of my box at Lord’s and we had great times outside of television. On television it was a double act.”
His unique appearance – deerstalker hat, sideburns and cigar – and outspoken character later made him a reality TV star.
He first took part in Celebrity Big Brother in 2005 along with Caprice Bourret, Germaine Greer, Jackie Stallone, Bez and Kenzie. He caused controversy with his views on women but was back to take part in Ultimate Big Brother, featuring housemates from previous series such as Brian Dowling, Nikki Grahame, Chantelle Houghton, Preston, Makosi Musambasi, Coolio and Ulrika Jonsson.
McCririck also appeared on Celebrity Wife Swap – where former politician Edwina Currie tried to get him to cook and clean.
He acrimoniously left Channel 4 Racing in 2013, subsequently losing an age discrimination case made against the station and production company IMG Media Limited.
A statement released by his family said: “Award-winning journalist, broadcaster and for many years the face of British horse racing, John McCririck, passed away at a London hospital on Friday, July 5, aged 79.
“He is survived by Jenny, his wife of 48 years. His funeral will be private.”
The British Horseracing Authority paid tribute to McCririck, tweeting: “Throughout a lengthy and colourful career, one thing was always clear – his enduring passion and love for the sport of horse racing. He was a recognisable figure and resonated with the wider public. Our condolences go to his family.”
He was very soft and caring. If my wife was ill he would be ringing up and asking how she is. The buffoonery was his television image and it worked. He was a
character BARRY DENNIS
HE may have divided opinion, but flamboyant horse racing pundit John McCririck was a larger-than-life personality who will be greatly missed.
McCririck, or ‘Big Mac’ as the 79-year-old was known, enjoyed a television career spanning four decades – one that rarely had a dull moment, with plenty of controversy thrown in for good measure.
His outspoken views split the public – but there was no doubting his colourful image, backed up by his trademark cigar, sideburns, deerstalker hat, multi-coloured clothes and gold jewellery, which made him instantly recognisable. In fact, it could be argued that, for many outside of it, he was the face of racing.
Born in Surbiton, Surrey, McCririck – who was deeply thoughtful and considered in his views off-camera – was educated at Elizabeth College in Guernsey, Jersey’s Victoria College and Harrow, where he was the school bookie. He left school with three O-levels. He worked briefly as
a waiter at the Dorchester Hotel in London before becoming a bookmaker, then moving on to be a tic-tac man – the elaborate art of touching the head and using hand signals to denote a horse’s odds.
McCririck’s journalistic career took off on The Sporting Life, which he worked for from 1972 to 1984, winning two British Press awards. He was also a racing sub-editor for BBC’s Grandstand.
A supporter of Newcastle United, and often seen sporting their black and white colours on television, McCririck married Jenny in 1971 and affectionately tagged her ‘The Booby’. They did not have any children.
In 1981, he joined ITV Sport’s horse racing coverage, which later moved to Channel 4, where he would spend more than 25 years at his familiar spot in the betting ring. He worked with the likes of Brough Scott, Derek Thompson and John Francome, not to mention John Oaksey – whom he always referred to as ‘My Noble Lord’.
With his trademark catchphrase of “come racing”, McCririck took the armchair racegoer into the betting ring, giving them an insight into what he described as “the jungle”.
He got what betting meant, and made it his mission to transmit the excitement and intrigue to viewers.
McCririck was a stalwart of The Morning Line magazine programme on Channel 4 on a Saturday, when the show attracted a cult audience. His paper reviews and banter with the rest of the cast were a highlight.
So, too, was the double act he forged with Tanya Stevenson, tagged the ‘Email female’ by McCririck, who was awed by Stevenson’s mastery on her laptop of the emerging phenomenon of betting exchanges. He called it her ‘magic machine’.
Despite his prominence in the racing world, it was McCririck’s reality TV appearances that made him a household name in later years.
Stints on Celebrity Big Brother and Celebrity Wife Swap, starting in 2005, cemented his pantomime villain character. His protests in Celebrity Big Brother about being refused Diet Coke remain some of the most memorable the series has aired.
In Wife Swap, he teamed up with also-outspoken politician Edwina Currie, creating strangely absorbing television as his co-star refused to buckle to McCririck’s obstinate ways. The Telegraph described them as “a real-life Alan Partridge and Lynn”.
McCririck left Channel 4 Racing in 2012, subsequently losing an age discrimination case made against the station and production company IMG Media Limited.
But he always remained the one person media outlets would turn to for a view on the latest big headline or drama – and racing should be thankful for the profile he gave it.