Alan Carr leads stars supporting Carol Vorderman’s decision to exit BBC radio

Former ‘Countdown’ star said she was ‘not prepared to stop’ criticising the current UK government

Alan Carr and Dame Kelly Holmes are among the celebrities to have expressed support for Carol Vorderman following her decision to resign from BBC Radio Wales over new social media guidelines.

The former Countdown star said management had decided she should give up her Saturday morning show at the station after breaching these guidelines.

The 62-year-old wrote on Instagram that while she respected the guidelines, she was “not prepared to stop” criticising the current UK government.

Comedian Carr commented on Vorderman’s post: “Big respect Carol.”

Olympian Holmes said: “You do you Carol! Much respect for sticking up for who you are and not allowing corporations to silence you!”

Former SAS: Who Dares Wins star Ant Middleton added: “It’s called social media for a reason because it’s what you do outside of your work commitments.

“It’s not called work media... the 2 should be kept completely separate.

“When your work wants to control your social life, that’s when it’s time to say bye bye. Good on you Carol.”

Elsewhere, presenter Cat Deeley told Vorderman “you are bloody brilliant” whilst comedian Joe Lycett joked: “I have informed the BBC I am available to replace you.”

Under the BBC’s social media guidelines, presenters on flagship programmes have been banned from making attacks on political parties.

The guidelines came in following a row after Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker compared the language used by the Conservative Government to promote its asylum plans to 1930s Germany on X.

In a statement to The Independent, the BBC said: “Carol has been a presenter on BBC Radio Wales since 2018. We’d like to thank her for her work and contribution to the station over the past five years.”

Vorderman recently posted a number of critical remarks about Johnny Mercer’s performance as veterans’ affairs minister. The pair have had several public arguments and he has referred to her on X/Twitter as a “deeply unpleasant person”.

In March, Vorderman called on women’s minister Maria Caulfield to resign after she claimed she could not “be bothered to turn up” to a committee hearing about the menopause.

In September, she is said to have deleted several posts about Conservative chair Greg Hands.

Hands had called on her to apologise for what he called “defamatory and damaging” tweets about his involvement in a lifestyle firm being awarded a £25.8m personal protective equipment contract in 2020.

Writing on X, Vorderman said she was “happy to accept Mr Hands’ assurance that his role in the process was simply to refer the approach… [and] there was no impropriety on his part”.

Additional reporting from the Press Association