Alan Tichmarsh weighs into TV sexism row by exhorting women to stop ‘whingeing’
TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh has given his tuppence worth in a sexism row fueled by Clare Balding who warned of ‘pervasive’ sexism in television.
In a riposte Titchmarsh urged female presenters to stop ‘whingeing’ if they were unceremoniously ditched later in life, as this was balanced out by the advantage they had early on in their careers.
The advice wasn’t well received by many however with Miriam O’Reilly, the sacked Countryfile presenter who won an age discrimination case against the BBC, saying the comments made her ‘angry’, adding: ‘He should know better’.
Speaking to the Observer the former Gardeners World presenter said: “Men in television tend to last a bit longer at the end of their careers, but it is women who make hay at the beginning. They don’t complain in their early days when they are disporting themselves on sports cars. I’d like to see a mix of all ages on TV and wish there could be less whingeing about it."
In a retort O’Reilly said: “What on earth is he talking about? We are not whingeing. We have to be vocal to make things change.
“We have to speak out about what is going on now in TV. A lot of people are getting the message that TV treats older women unfairly, but we have to keep saying it, we have to keep pushing at the door. That really makes me angry to suggest that because we are speaking out about age discrimination on TV that it’s whingeing. We are protesting, we are campaigning for change."