BBC1 controller 'hated women' ex-presenter tells age tribunal

Four female presenters in their 40s and 50s were dropped from BBC's Countryfile because the BBC1 controller Jay Hunt "hated women", a tribunal heard yesterday.

Miriam O'Reilly, 53, is suing the broadcaster for age and sex discrimination after she and three others were axed from the show when it moved to a prime-time slot.

Michaela Strachan, 42, Juliet Morris, 52, and Charlotte Smith, 44, were also removed from the rural affairs show ahead of its relaunch in April 2009.

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The BBC appointed Julia Bradbury, then 38, and Matt Baker, then 30, to present the programme.

Under cross-examination at a tribunal in London, Ms O'Reilly said TV presenter Juliet Morris had agreed it was ageist for the BBC to drop the four women.

Giving evidence, Ms O'Reilly said: "I had a conversation with Juliet Morris. She said the decision was ageist and it was made because Jay Hunt hated women."

Asked earlier yesterday whether she believed 43-year-old Ms Hunt, the BBC One controller, would have discriminated against a woman in her 40s, Ms O'Reilly replied she did.

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Ms O'Reilly also said she felt her ability and experience matched that of John Craven, then 68, who was kept on by the BBC for a slot in the new "refreshed" show called John Craven Investigates.

Jason Galbraith-Marten, representing the BBC, accused Ms O'Reilly of "embellishing" her evidence. He suggested she was not considered suitable for the new show, claiming her strength lay in investigative journalism rather than light-hearted presenting.

mIRIAM O'REILLY: Suing BBC for discrimination after being dropped from Countryfile.

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