Barker: I left Wimbledon on my own terms
SUE Barker has said she wanted to leave Wimbledon on her “own terms” rather than be “pushed out the door”, as she referenced her exit from A Question Of Sport after 24 years.
The former professional tennis player, 66, who was raised in Paignton, bid a tearful farewell to Wimbledon this year after 30 years of presenting coverage of the tennis event for the BBC.
It came two years after the broadcaster announced Paddy McGuinness would be taking over her role as host of A Question Of Sport, while the show’s team captains, Matt Dawson and Phil Tufnell, were replaced by Sam Quek and Ugo Monye.
Barker told presenter Lauren Laverne on the BBC Radio 4 series Desert Island Discs: “Matt and Tuffers, we are like best mates, we had such a bond and we absolutely loved that programme.
“We were devastated when it came to an end but all good things must come to an end. It wasn’t our choice and we sort of knew it was coming.
“The way it was handled made me think about Wimbledon and the way
I wanted to walk away on my own terms rather than be pushed out the door.
“To be taken into a room after 24 years and be told ‘we don’t want you any more’, I just wish they handled the end a little better.”
In July, Barker announced her retirement from presenting Wimbledon coverage.
“I knew it was going to be sad, I love the job, I love Wimbledon, it’s in my DNA,” Barker said. “I love the people I work with even more but you just have to pick when the time is right to go and I just felt that I could walk out with my head held high, having had 30 amazing years.”
Devon-born Barker chose the soundtrack to Wimbledon’s Parade Of Champions 2022 as her first desert island disc.
Struggling to hold back her tears, she told Laverne: “It was so wonderful and at the end of it, John McEnroe decided to say ‘well done’ to me for 30 years and the crowd’s reaction went on and on and, for them to give me that ovation, I thought ‘job done’. It was really really emotional.”