Sue Barker: 'BBC could have handled my Question of Sport exit better'

Sue Barker has said the BBC could have "handled better" her departure as host of game show Question of Sport.

Barker presented the quiz programme for 24 years but departed in 2020 when the BBC decided to rebrand the show.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Barker suggested the corporation wanted her to say she was stepping back by her own choice, rather than being replaced.

The 66-year-old former professional tennis player said: "They [BBC] wanted to refresh the programme and that is absolutely fine...

"We knew it was going to happen and it was just the way in which it happened and the way it was handled, and the way the BBC sort of wanted me to say that I was walking away from it.

"And yet, I would never walk away from a job I love. I don't mind being replaced. Absolutely fine. That happens. But it was just the way it was handled...

"I think if we look back on it we could have handled it better. I think the BBC could have handled it better."

At the time of leaving the show, Barker said she was "sad to say goodbye" to her dream job, but she understood why the BBC wanted to take the show in a new direction.

Reflecting on that period in her interview on Breakfast, the 1976 French Open champion added: "It is just such a shame because I loved it.

"And I don't look back on it badly just because of a couple of bad days and then some negative publicity, which I think affected quite a lot of people."

Ex-England rugby player Dawson and former England international cricketer Tufnell, who had been on the show for 16 and 12 years respectively, were replaced by ex-hockey player Sam Quek and former rugby union player Ugo Monye.

The decision brought to an end Barker's 30-year career at the BBC in which she had also presented the Olympic Games and Sports Personality of the Year.