Sue Barker has spoken out about her departure from the long-running quiz show A Question of Sport, stating that she felt the situation was so mishandled that she decided to quit the BBC for the rest of her life.
Barker states in a chapter from her forthcoming autobiography Calling the Shots, published in the Daily Mail, that she was fired as host of the BBC quiz show A Question of Sport. I'm afraid I've been somewhat damaged as a result.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with being replaced. Everybody has his or her day. Producers must always have the right to freshen a program and take it in a different direction.
"It was the way it was handled." It taught me that there is really no way to leave a position in a pleasant, helpful, and professional manner with your head held high.
When she heard that she would be replaced, the show was put up for independent production firms to bid on in 2016. Many of the companies wanted to keep her on, but the BBC didn't.
She claims that BBC management wanted to keep her on but replace Matt Dawson and Phil Tufnell as team captains two years later, but she said she would leave if they did. After another year of no decisions, the trio were recalled into separate sessions.
"With me, there was a bit of 'We love the show and you've been an amazing host, but...'," she says. "We'd been waiting for that 'but'. We were sacked. I accepted their decision, though I couldn't help but feel awfully sorry.
"The boys were equally depressed." After two weeks before we shot the final episode, BBC managers emailed to say they regretted not being in touch. That's when rage began. Not just for how I was treated, but also for the boys.
"Naively, I expected more after 24 years. We'd all seen John Humphrys leave Mastermind on his own terms, with a celebratory welcome from Clive Myrie a week later... We'd have been happier if they'd planned ahead and said: 'This will be your last year, and we'd love you to help look for a suitable new host and new captains.'
She writes that the trio refused to approve a statement saying they would leave, as well as a statement that she had decided to leave 'for the good of the show.'
"I was surprised," she adds. "Whether it was because I was too old or unqualified?" Either way, it was insulting... I told the BBC to make up their minds and reiterate publicly that they wanted to keep the program going. I wasn't going to lie to make it simpler for them."
Barker explains how her departure influenced her to leave the BBC for the rest of her life.
When Digital Spy spoke to the BBC, it did not respond.
The sequel to Calling the Shots will be released on September 29 and you may pre-order it now.