BBC Loses Ageism Case

[SiHart]

BBC lose the ageism case...

Ex-Countryfile host Miriam O'Reilly has won an employment tribunal against the BBC on the grounds of ageism.

The 53-year-old claimed she had been unfairly dropped from the rural affairs show when it moved to a primetime Sunday evening slot in April 2009.

O'Reilly, whose sex discrimination case failed, said the outcome had "implications for all broadcasters".

The BBC has apologised to O'Reilly and said it would like to "discuss working with her again in the future".

O'Reilly said she had endured "an incredibly stressful 14 months" since launching her claim.

"I did this because it was the right thing to do - I couldn't have lived with myself if I'd just walked away," she said.

"I'm so pleased the judges have agreed with me."

O'Reilly added: "It was hard taking on the BBC as I love the BBC but I felt I was treated badly."

She said she was "impressed" that the corporation had apologised and would like to work for it again.

"I don't think having wrinkles is offensive," she added.

O'Reilly, along with Juliet Morris and Michaela Strachan, lost her job on Countryfile ahead of its move to Sunday evenings.

She was told in November 2008 she was being dropped after working for eight years as a freelance presenter on the show.

Former Watchdog host Julia Bradbury and Matt Baker were among new presenters who joined the revamped programme while John Craven, then 68, was kept on.

The BBC said in a statement that it accepted the findings of the tribunal.

"The BBC is committed to fair selection in every aspect of our work and we clearly did not get it right in this case," it said.

Senior managers who made decisions on presenters would undergo additional training on selection and appointment and new guidance would be issued, it added.

"We would like to acknowledge the important contribution Miriam has made to the BBC over more than 20 years and we would welcome the opportunity to discuss working with her again in the future," the statement said.
'Confidence affected'

The tribunal heard allegations that O'Reilly had been asked if it was "time for Botox" and was warned to be "careful with those wrinkles when high definition comes in".

O'Reilly told the tribunal she was not given a reason for her departure and was told only that Countryfile was being "refreshed".

"It is not an exaggeration to say that I was devastated by this news," she said.

"Being dropped from the programme, I believe because of my age and sex, really affected my confidence."

But former BBC One controller Jay Hunt told the tribunal the claims were "entirely and categorically untrue" as well as "profoundly distressing and utterly offensive".

"I am a 43-year-old woman," she went on. "I have had my own difficulties surviving this industry.

"For that reason, the last thing I would ever do is ever discriminate against anyone on the basis of gender or age. Nothing could be further from my mind."
'Age discrimination'

Hunt argued that the only reason for O'Reilly's departure was because she was not recognisable to a peaktime audience.

Michelle Mitchell, charity director at Age UK, said the outcome sent out "a powerful signal that even in the youth-worshipping world of showbusiness, age discrimination can be withstood".

"The idea that wrinkles or grey hair can sound the death knell for the careers of female TV presenters is beyond appalling, especially in a country where over a third of the population is aged 50 and over," she added.

"If ageism is to be stamped out, broadcasters must start offering a more honest portrayal of our society to their viewers."

Si xx

[Zbigniev Hamson]

I'd be interested to know more about when the failed sex discrimination claim was made. Was it concurrent, or was it made before? If it's the latter then that would have to slightly undermine this victory. "I feel so strongly that I was discriminated against because of my age, that I took them to a tribunal for discriminating against me because of my gender first, and when that failed I went in for the age angle."

[SiHart]

That does seem odd doesn't it? It's not been widely reported before, has it?

Si xx

[WhiteCrowNZ]

As a general thing ...

I always think it's a bit odd when you have older female presenters and actresses complaining that "there's no roles for us more mature women". As many of them managed to make their mark ... as young presenters/actresses who were seen as "young and tallented", and they had no issue with it then ...

[Lissa]

Nick Ross was the unlikely voice of sanity amidst the media coverage. His point was that TV presenting is showbiz and in all areas of showbiz it is the young that get most of the jobs. That's generally a bad thing but it doesn't need courts and tribunals enforcing change on producers.

I don't think this will have a massive impact on how TV is done. Presenters sign fixed length contracts and it's then up to the makers whether they renew them or not. Women like Miriam O'Reilly will, in future, be given fewer items to present and then not re-signed when their contracts expire. It might even work against them as presenters of a certain age may get shorter contracts so they can be dumped more easily.

In essence the Countryfile revamp (and whose idea was it to make Countryfile a primetime blockbuster?) meant hiring primetime presenters to replace their Sunday morning presenters. Julia Bradbury is 40 so it wasn't as if they were dropped for a 20 year old bimbo - they were simply replaced by someone perceived as better for the new role.

But, as Charlie Brooker once said, the ideal presenter for Countryfile is Piers Morgan because "he's a **** who I revile".

Sorry.

[Si Hunt]

The highlight of the coverage of this in the Evening Standard was the publication of one of Michaela Strachan's personal e-mails.

Si.

[Captain Tancredi]

I think Countryfile gradually evolved out of an extension of the farming news and eventually somebody discovered that it wasn't just people in rural areas who watched it. When it was still on in the morning on Sunday, Mum used to work on the basis that if she wanted to do anything that day, she had to get Dad out before Countryfile started otherwise it'd be lunchtime and then the middle of the afternoon before they got anywhere. Now it's aimed a bit more at the sort of people who shop in farmers' markets, buy Duchy Originals and join the National Trust.

The long-term effects could be interesting because it's in the nature of any long-running programme to refresh its lineup every so often and have presenters who reflect their target audience- Matt Baker and Julia Bradbury are good-looking and outdoorsy without being stuffy or patronising- otherwise Valerie Singleton and Peter Purves would still be presenting Blue Peter. In the long run it could turn out to be easier to cancel a programme which has been running for, say, 10-15 years and is due for a revamp rather than negotiate the pitfalls of deciding who stays and who goes.