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Home / Sport / BBC axes A Question of Sport after more than 50 years
BBC axes A Question of Sport after more than 50 years
15th December 2023

BREAKING NEWS BBC AXES A Question of Sport after more than 50 years: Bosses blames ‘inflation’ for decision to scrap long-running quiz show – just a year after sparking fury by sacking Sue Barker

A Question of Sport has been axed by the BBC after running for more than 50 years, the corporation revealed tonight. 

Making the shock announcement, bosses blamed inflation and dwindling ratings for the cut of the long-running sports quiz show that spanned more than 1300 episodes.

The decision to halt production comes less than a year after the Beeb sacked long-running host Sue Barker – sparking a furious response from its loyal audience.  

A BBC spokesperson told The Mirror: ‘Due to inflation and funding challenges difficult decisions have to be made, therefore Question of Sport is currently not in production at the moment.’

The corporation are said to have confirmed that the brand is not for sale, hinting that the format could possibly be revived in the future. 

A Question of Sport has been axed by the BBC after running for more than 50 years, the corporation revealed tonight

The show first debuted in 1970, and initially fronted by former Match of the Day reporter David Vine, but is best known for being presented by Wimbledon semi-finalist Sue Barker, who captained the programme for 24 years.

The tennis star joined the programe in 1997 quickly progressing to become the face of the show.

In 2020, however, she was ousted in a shock move, that the presenter admitted left her feeling ‘slightly damaged’.

‘Naively, I’d expected more after 24 years,’ she wrote in the Mail following the fallout. 

‘Don’t get me wrong: I had no problem with being replaced,’ she said. ‘Everyone has their day. Producers must always have the right to refresh a programme and take it in a new direction.

‘It was the way it was handled. It taught me there is actually no way of leaving a role in a nice, pleasant and helpful manner, with your head held high.’

Following Miss Barker’s departure, ratings for Question of Sport slumped to an all time low dropping to an average of 850,000 for last year’s series.

One episode on August 19 peaked at 750,000, with the programme being beaten by a Channel 5 show about a farm shop.

Between four and five million viewers regularly tuned in when Sue was host before she was given the boot in 2020 when bosses decided to refresh the programme.

MailOnline has contacted the BBC. 

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