A QUESTION OF WHY?
There were howls of protest when much-loved sports star turned broadcaster Sue Barker was shunted off A Question Of Sport, after 24 years in the job.
In their never-ending quest to attract younger viewers away from Tiktok, BBC bosses have literally managed to wreck their own show.
And now Sue, 66, has dropped strong hints that – just like the viewers – she’s not keen on the new version of the quiz, fronted by comic entertainer Paddy Mcguinness.
Writing in her newly released memoir, Calling The Shots, she reveals that she also isn’t a fan of non-sporting celebs being invited on as guests, something she ‘fought for years’ to block during her tenure as host.
The tennis ace marvels, ‘It amazes me the BBC don’t think sports stars are big enough names to carry a show. If you look at the highest viewing figures across the board, sport is always up there. Besides, this is A Question Of Sport. The clue is in the title. It’s a sports quiz that is family entertainment. It’s not light entertainment with a sports theme.’
She makes a good point. Since her enforced departure, along with popular team captains Matt Dawson and Phil Tufnell (who’d been there for 16 and 12 years, respectively), the show’s ratings have plummeted from over four million to under one million.
Paddy is a funny guy and great on Top Gear and other shows. But on A Question Of Sport? It’s a big, fat no. As are guests like Jamie Laing and Anton Du Beke.
And why BBC bosses think swapping Sue for a 49-year-old man is going to make much difference to the yoof/bbc3 audience is anyone’s guess.
Rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater, and shooting themselves in the foot in the process, they should have listened to one particular old adage: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.