One of the BBC ‘s most well-loved news presenters has made her return to TV, a year after being pulled from the air.
Martine Croxall, 55, took to her social media ahead of her grand return to the newsroom. Writing on Twitter, the presenter gleefully typed: “Y’all ready for this? Back on BBC News at 11:00 BST.”
As well as this, Martine was able to have some fun with her return to our screens, uploading a video of herself getting ready to go live. Once she got settled in the studio, she proudly declared: “Now, where were we?”
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A prominent newsreader for the BBC, Martine was at the forefront of some of the biggest news stories – famously becoming the woman to break the news of Prince Phillip’s death in April 2021. Having worked at the news network for more than 30 years, Croxall became one of the most well-respected journalists on the channel.
(Image: BBC)
But despite joining the channel back in October 1991, Croxall’s hard work had seemingly gone unrewarded. This culminated in her being snubbed for a chief presenter role on the network, being able to regularly appear as a presenter on BBC News itself, as well as the BBC News Channel.
To add to the drama, Martine was pulled from the air for two weeks in 2022, leaving fans bemused at where she had disappeared. It was later revealed that claims had been made that Martine appeared to show bias when former Prime Minister Boris Johnson pulled out of the Tory leadership contest, and had not been seen on the channel since.
(Image: X/MartineBBC)
Irate at the handling of the presenter debacle, Martine teamed up with other respected newsreaders including Annita McVeigh, Kasia Madera and Karin Giannone to vent their frustrations. The four presenters went on to slam the BBC for its “sham recruitment exercise” after the BBC World Service merged with BBC News itself.
Giannone, McVeigh and Madera have all returned to the channel already, keeping viewers informed on the latest happening around the world. Croxall began at the BBC on Monday (May 27), much to the delight of her fellow co-stars.
Kasia herself took to the post to congratulate her coming back to the screen. She explained: “Great to see my friend Martine back on BBC News.” Karin also said she was proud of her return, quipping: “As soon as the leg mends, I’ll be there too.”
(Image: PA)
All four journalists continued their legal struggle against the broadcaster, as they appeared before the Central London Employment Tribunal earlier this month. The women said they have faced discrimination based on age, sex and the rate of pay, which has caused them reputational damage, as well as harassment.
Responding to the claims, the BBC said that during the time of the presenting role snub, it had followed the rules regarding equal pay. They added that a “rigorous and fair recruitment process” was followed and all the correct protocol was implemented.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
