Sue Barker hits out at BBC sacking as former Question of Sport host claims she’s BANNED from discussing time on show
Former Question of Sport host Sue Barker has made a shocking admission about the BBC following her axe from the once-popular programme.
The ex-tennis player fronted the quiz show from 1997 to 2021 before the broadcaster opted to replace her alongside team captains Matt Dawson and Phil Tufnell with Paddy McGuinness, Sam Quek, and Ugo Monye.
Barker, 68, recently revealed how the BBC has banned her from referencing or mentioning her former show during her reunion tour alongside her former co-stars.
Sue, Matt and Phil Live! is currently making its way around the country, and on Sunday during the Hammersmith show in London, the former sports woman revealed the harsh terms the BBC has implemented for the tour.
She explained how she and her co-stars were banned from mentioning the programme, which was taken off screens for good in 2023 after 53 years on air.
She also detailed how she had been forbidden from using names of the rounds that used to be on the show, such as the One Minute Round.
As they welcomed the audience, the presenter noted how she wouldn’t be mentioning the show, Mail Online reports.
Former rugby star Dawson reportedly greeted the fans by commenting, “Welcome to…” before trailing off.
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“We’re not allowed to use any of the names of the rounds, but in actual fact, they’re all exactly the same,” Barker admitted, continuing: “So let’s go and play a quiz.”
“It’s lovely to be back, before I got sacked, basically,” she added, sparking boos from the crowd.
The show suffered a huge ratings drop when Barker, Dawson, and Tufnell were replaced, with the BBC shelving the long-running show in 2023.
The broadcaster cited “inflation and funding challenges” as the reason for the show’s axe.
During Barker’s stint, episodes usually drew in between four to five million viewers, but this fell to just 800,000 in 2023, the Mail Online reports.
Speaking last year, Barker stated A Question of Sport was her “dream job” but that she wouldn’t return to the show if the opportunity ever arose.
When asked in 2024 about the show, Barker admitted that while she would be “tempted” to return if she was ever asked to, the “right decision is no”.
She explained the gig had been her “dream job” for 24 years, stating: “I would be amazingly tempted.
“I’d be tempted [with] A Question Of Sport, I’d be tempted to [also] go back to Wimbledon, but I know that the right decision is no,” she stated on the Monday Mile with Aimee Fuller podcast.
“The right decision for me is no and the right decision for the programme is no, but if I was 20-30 years younger, I’d jump at it, absolutely.”
“I loved it, but everybody has their time, my time was then. It’s time for someone else to take the baton and really enjoy it. As much as I’d love to go back, I know that it’ll never happen.”
She also admitted she was “disappointed” at the show’s ending because new athletes will miss out on the experience of appearing on the show.
On her connection with her former co-stars, she added: “Matt and I go back so many years because he joined in like 2004, so we were together for 16 plus years.”
And then Tuffers, at least 12 years, so there is an amazing bond there and we have our own little WhatsApp group, we keep in touch.”
Opening about her replacements previously, Barker once admitted “the BBC could’ve handled it better”.