THE BBC has said it is “sorry to see Giles Coren go” – with the presenter set to exit his gig co-hosting BBC2’s Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond The Lobby alongside Monica Galetti after having faced backlash for tweets about the death of a journalist.
The official reason for the move has been confirmed as a “diary clash”, the Mail+ revealed.
Coren, meanwhile, said he would miss “going on holiday with Monica Galetti six times a year at the licence payer’s expense”.
Last year, the presenter, 53, published two now-deleted tweets after the death of Jacobin journalist Dawn Foster at the age of 34 – which were branded “sickening”.
He tweeted: “When someone dies who has trolled you on Twitter, saying vile and hurtful things about you and your family, is it okay to be like, 'I’m sorry for the people who loved you, and any human death diminishes me, but, HA HA HA HA HA HA'?"
Another version of the tweet read: “When someone dies who has trolled you on Twitter, saying vile and hurtful things about you and your family, is it okay to be like, 'I’m sorry for the people who loved you, and any human death diminishes me, but can you fuck off on to hell now where you belong'?"
The BBC was praised by Coren for the “beautiful” handling of his exit from the show – but a corporation source told Mail+ this his replacement would be “the opposite of Giles” and that the scandal had left his position untenable.
However, the BBC’s public statement said: “We’re sorry to see Giles go and would like to thank him for his contribution over four successful series.”
Coren revealed that he would be leaving the show in a post on Instagram.
He said: “I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that I’ve had a knee-trembling new television series commissioned that has the potential to be by far the best thing I’ve done on telly. The bad news is that, in terms of scheduling, I have had to choose between this new baby and another series of Amazing Hotels.
“Listen, Amazing is a wonderful show. I love filming it and I love going on holiday with @galettigram six times a year at the licence payer’s expense.
“But I have a day job writing and podcasting for The Times and I have only ever been able to make one TV series a year. Each time a new opportunity comes along I have to dump the one I’m on.”
Coren was met with a backlash after his comments about Foster, with many accusing the food writer of being upset after Foster suggested he landed his Times job thanks to his family connections.
Coren's father was Alan Coren, a writer and panellist on shows such as The News Quiz and Call My Bluff. His sister is TV presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell.
He did not respond to the paper’s request for comment.
