Leicestershire’s star BBC newsreader Martine Croxall has teased an imminent return to screens nearly a year after being taken off air. The much-loved broadcaster had seemingly missed out on one of the new top roles last month, but now looks set for her BBC return very soon.
Martine, who was born and grew up in Stoke Golding, near Hinckley, had been among the most familiar faces on the BBC News Channel prior to its cost-cutting merger with BBC World News last year. Martine has not appeared on screens since, amid a dispute involving her and several other female presenters who were made to reapply for their old jobs.
Last month, the BBC appointed several new chief presenters following that application process, but Martine had seemingly missed out on one of the coveted roles. Now, in a birthday message to her fans on Sunday (February 25), she teased her comeback, telling them that she was returning soon to a screen near you.
Prior to last year’s BBC News Channel rebrand, Martine regularly helmed the 11am to 1pm slot and was one of the familiar faces hosting the channel’s now axed The Papers review programme. During her hosting of that show, she was taken off air for 12 days amid an investigation into alleged Tory bias after she admitted to being gleeful at Boris Johnson withdrawing from the party’s leadership race.
Martine later set the record straight on the matter in a podcast interview with Gabby Logan in which she said she believed the row, which included criticism from Harborough MP Neil O’Brien, had generated a lot more hot air than it should have done. She defended her impartiality and said the widely shared clip of her alleged bias had been edited and was not what was transmitted.
She returned to work without issue, until the cost-cutting merger took effect in March last year. Ever since, she has reportedly been kept off-air amid the ongoing dispute over jobs.
Martine has regularly teased fans about her return to BBC screens, including a Christmas message from Market Bosworth Country Park at the end of last year. Her birthday message and replies were her strongest hint yet that a resolution to the dispute was in sight.
A timeframe on her screen comeback is not clear, with the Leicestershire star remaining tight-lipped. However, across a series of messages to fans, she did reveal a little more. She told one fan that her return was fairly imminent, while saying it was also soon to several others.
