Andrew Marr is said to be ‘surprised’ after being removed from the BBC’s official tribute to Queen Elizabeth II after her death.
The 63-year-old broadcaster left his BBC talk show in December 21, having spent years working on a documentary set to air when the monarch died.
Following her sad death on Thursday aged 96, the film – entitled A Tribute to Her Majesty the Queen – aired the next night, but Marr’s voiceover was replaced in the final piece.
His agent Mary Greenham told The Times: ‘Andrew Marr doesn’t believe that the public is at all interested in which journalists say exactly what, where, at this solemn time.
‘He is slightly surprised that the BBC apparently believes that hearing his voice would upset its viewers…
‘But Andrew is philosophical and is focusing all his attention on helping get the best possible coverage of these extraordinary days for his current employers.’
The voiceover was re-recorded by Kirsty Young, while the film featured interviews with the Queen’s children, including King Charles III.
Speaking to The News Agents podcast earlier this month, Marr revealed he had been working on a film about the Queen, which was planned to air at ‘a certain moment’.
He added: ‘I found that quite an emotional thing to do.’
A BBC spokesperson responded to The Times, noting they didn’t feel it was appropriate for the broadcaster to comment on the situation during a time of national mourning.
BBC sources claimed the corporation had agreed to honour his version of the film until the end of August, while the piece itself was reworked over many years.
Earlier on Monday, Marr reflected on the emotional moment he told his LBC radio show listeners that the Queen had died peacefully at Balmoral last week.
His voice wavered at he announced the news, and he has insisted he isn’t ’embarrassed’ by getting overwhelmed in the moment.
After Good Morning Britain’s Susanna Reid referred to it as a ‘seismic moment’, he added: ‘And for a lot of us, a personal one too. I’ve been asking myself ever since that “how embarrassed do I feel?” because after all, we’re all meant to be professional broadcasters, we hold it together, we do the thing.
‘And it was a huge moment of course, but I think what was going through my mind was the death of my father two years ago and I think a lot of people had that kind of connection.’
Pointing to the connection people across the country – and the world – feel to the royal family and the Queen, he said: ‘In the end, I decided not to feel too embarrassed.’
