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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Carol Vorderman has branded the BBC “sexist” for “sacking” her the same week bosses “kept on” Huw Edwards – despite “knowing the serious nature of his arrest”.
In November 2023, Vorderman was forced out of her BBC Radio Wales show because she was “not prepared to lose” her voice after the introduction of the corporation’s new social media guidelines.
The broadcaster, 63, who had hosted the Saturday morning programme since 2018, said she had decided to “continue to criticise the UK government” following the crackdown on BBC employees sharing their opinions on social media amid an impartiality row with Gary Lineker. The presenter said that these changes to her radio contract were “non-negotiable”, and would have seen her unable to share social media posts about her political views.
That same week, the BBC decided to continue paying former newsreader Huw Edwards’s salary despite being aware police had arrested him on child abuse image charges. In July, following Edwards’s official resignation, the former newsreader pleaded guilty to making child sex abuse images.
Vorderman told The Times: “BBC management made two decisions about two presenters within 24 hours. One was to sack me for five innocuous tweets. The other, knowing the serious nature of Huw’s arrest, was to keep him on and carry on paying his salary. I mean… no sexism!”
Edwards has since been asked to hand back the salary he earned from the corporation after being arrested on these charges.
In a letter to staff, the BBC chair Samir Shah wrote that Edwards had “behaved in bad faith”, saying that the corporation believed he had taken his salary despite preparing to plead guilty to the “appalling” offences.
“Today, the board has authorised the executive to seek the return of salary paid to Mr Edwards from the time he was arrested in November last year,” the board statement said.
“Mr Edwards pleaded guilty to an appalling crime. Had he been upfront when asked by the BBC about his arrest, we would never have continued to pay him public money.
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Vorderman called the BBC’s guidelines that led to her departure “a nonsense”, adding: “I get it if you’re working in news or a political programme, but I was with my friend Nathan Sussex, asking questions such as ‘How many things can you do with a Wellington boot?’ The rest of it was music. There were no complaints from listeners.”
In a statement provided at the time of Vorderman’s departure, as pokesperson for the corporation said: “Carol has been a presenter on BBC Radio Wales since 2018. We’d like to thank her for her work and contribution to the station over the past five years.
The BBC published its new Social Media Guidance last September which strike a balance between the BBC’s commitment to impartiality and freedom of expression. The guidance sets out clear expectations for freelancers, which includes a particular responsibility to uphold civility in public discourse.”
