TV and radio presenter Carol Vorderman has criticised the BBC and its social media guidelines, saying ‘the people at the top of the BBC – Conservatives – are trying to restrict what people do in their private lives’.
The former Countdown star, 63, left her BBC radio show last year, saying she was ‘not prepared to lose [her] voice’ after the corporation introduced new social media guidelines.
Vorderman claims she was ‘sacked’ by the corporation with ‘no conversation to be had’.
She has been vocal in her criticism of the Government on social media and has had several arguments on X with Tory MPs, including last year saying that the public is ‘ashamed’ about then Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s remarks about homelessness.
Vorderman previously said management had decided she should give up her Saturday morning show on BBC Radio Wales over a breach of the guidelines, and in January this year, she joined LBC Radio to host her own Sunday afternoon programme.
She told the Radio Times magazine: ‘The people at the top of the BBC – Conservatives – are trying to restrict what people do in their private lives. It’s an absolute nonsense.
‘You have to understand, Ofcom rules when you’re on air, which I was abiding by. In fact, I had a light entertainment show. Showbiz gossip and chat, having a laugh and playing music. Nothing taxing.
‘I never, ever spoke about politics. This kind of ownership of what you’re allowed to be outside of that is absolutely about restricting the freedom of people. There’s a lot that doesn’t make the papers.
‘It’s not just me, and it’s ironic, isn’t it, that I’m the only one that’s been sacked?’
When contacted for comment regarding Vorderman’s remarks, a BBC spokesperson told Metro.co.uk: ‘The BBC published its new Social Media Guidance last September which strikes 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.’
At the time of Vorderman’s departure, the BBC said in a statement: ‘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.’
Meanwhile, Vorderman’s statement in November read: ‘Since those non-negotiable changes to my radio contract were made, I’ve ultimately found that I’m not prepared to lose my voice on social media, change who I am, or lose the ability to express the strong beliefs I hold about the political turmoil this country finds itself in.
‘My decision has been to continue to criticise the current UK government for what it has done to the country which I love – and I’m not prepared to stop. I was brought up to fight for what I believe in, and I will carry on.’
She acknowledged that she had ‘breached the new guidelines and BBC Wales management has decided [she] must leave.’
Vorderman admitted she was ‘sad’ to be leaving, but wished her former employer and listeners ‘all the love in the world.’
Under the BBC’s revised guidance on the personal use of social media for everyone working at the corporation, presenters on flagship programmes including Match Of The Day (MOTD) and The Apprentice have been banned from making attacks on political parties.
The corporation said the guidance does not include contributors, pundits, judges or guest hosts, but it has put through additional guidance for freelancers along with those not working in news, current affairs or factual journalism production.
The broadcaster said these types of employees ‘must not bring the BBC into disrepute’, are required to be respectful in public and take care when engaging with public debate.
These new guidelines followed a row over MOTD presenter Gary Lineker comparing the language used by the Conservative Government to promote its asylum plans to 1930s Germany on X, which led to him briefly not presenting the show, a boycott by sports staff and a social media review.
Speaking about LBC Radio, Vorderman told Radio Times: ‘I’m absolutely loving the freedom.
‘It’s wonderful. I used to listen to LBC, and James O’Brien in particular.
‘Now (while free to express political opinions) we abide by Ofcom regulations and broadcasting rules, which apply to my show and the whole station, to say both sides of an argument. Which we do.
‘I’m just one side of it.’
Vorderman is due to publish her book Out Of Order: What’s Gone Wrong With Britain And One Woman’s Mission To Fix It in September and it will be supported by her Carol Vorderman Live! Out Of Order tour across 11 dates in the UK.
The BBC has been contacted for comment.
Read Carol Vorderman’s full interview in this week’s Radio Times magazine.
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