After being let go from the BBC in 2023, TV and radio host Carol Vorderman has taken aim at her previous employer over their social media policies.
The 63-year-old former Countdown star resigned from her BBC radio programme last year, citing her inability to be “prepared to lose [her] voice” in response to the company’s new social media policies.
According to Vorderman, the company “sacked” her because there was “no conversation to be had.”
On social media, she has been outspoken in her criticism of the government, and she has argued with Tory MPs on X on multiple occasions. She even claimed last year that the public is “ashamed” of then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s comments regarding homelessness.
Prior to this year, Vorderman had stated that management had determined she should resign from her Saturday morning show on BBC Radio Wales due to a violation of the rules. She then joined LBC Radio as a Sunday afternoon broadcaster.
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 said: ‘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.’
The BBC has updated its guidelines regarding employees’ personal use of social media, and presenters on popular shows including The Apprentice and Match of the Day (MOTD) are prohibited from criticising political parties.
The company stated that although contributors, commentators, judges, and guest hosts are not covered by the guidelines, further guidance has been provided for freelancers and non-news, non-current affairs, and factual journalism production workers.
According to the broadcaster, these workers “must not bring the BBC into discredit,” and they must use caution and civility when participating in public discourse.
These new policies came after a controversy involving MOTD host Gary Lineker drawing comparisons between 1930s Germany and the language used by the Conservative Government to promote its refugee plans on X. The controversy resulted in Lineker’s temporary removal from the show, a boycott by sports staff, and a negative 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.
