Krishnan Guru-Murthy’s jab at the BBC may have backfired when he was announced as a contender on Strictly Come Dancing 2023.
The Channel 4 presenter began his career on the BBC, where he presented Newsround until 1994, when he moved to Newsnight before leaving the channel completely in 1997.
Following the departure of Jon Snow, the 53-year-old is now Channel 4’s longest-serving newsreader.
Following Gary Lineker’s infamous spat with the BBC over impartiality requirements, Guru-Murthy went on The Political Party podcast in March and stated that he ‘enjoys’ when the BBC is in difficulty, even though he does not ‘cherish’ it.
‘There may be a boss you knew 20 years ago that you’re quite enjoying watching screw up or they sacked your friend, whatever that might be,’ he said.
‘There are grudges in the media obviously, which I’m quite happy to continue.’
According to sources, BBC bosses are understandably peeved by the historic remarks.
‘A place on Strictly is one of TV’s golden tickets so it’s far from a good look that one of the cast has been criticising the BBC and even worse when the channel made their name,’ an insider told The Sun.
‘Everyone was excited to get Krishnan on board but this has cast a bit of a shadow. The bosses are not happy.’
Fans are ecstatic about the deal, which brings The One Show’s Angela Scanlon, actress Amanda Abbington, and soap actor Adam Thomas into the fold.
Explaining why he had agreed to take part, he said: ‘You only live once. I’m here for the joy and the fun. I love my job. It’s very, very privileged: I go to amazing places and speak to amazing people, but it’s incredibly serious; it’s quite stressful.
‘So the idea of being able to have pure intravenous joy, alongside – because I’m going to be doing the news at the same time – is just irresistible.’
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One this autumn.
Source My Celebrity Life.