Andrew Castle has lifted the lid on his exit from the BBC after being axed as the broadcaster’s lead commentator for Wimbledon.
Speaking to GB News, the legendary broadcaster admitted he “didn’t really know” the reason why he was cut after covering the iconic tennis tournament for more than 20 years.
Castle said he “loves and will miss” the BBC audience he has come to know over his two decades in the role.
He said: “I’ve come to know the BBC audience as a general audience of our population, and I love them and I miss them and they write to me, and that’s what I was trying to do over all these years.
“Why I’ve been evaporated and I’ve got to go, I don’t really know.”
The broadcaster suggested that perhaps the BBC is taking a “new direction” with its coverage of Wimbledon.
He said: “It’s perhaps a new direction. Now there comes a time for everything, and I accept that. I still feel like there’s plenty to offer, and to be quite honest, that’s exactly what they said as well.
“It was all very nice and very kind and very decently delivered, but the bottom line is I’m still sad, and this week is always a little bit funny for me anyway as I come down from the great show. But this year a little bit different because I won’t be back anyway.”
Looking back at his broadcasting career, Castle made clear that although he has thoroughly enjoyed the work he’s done over the years, tennis is “in his DNA”.
He said: “I’ve done all sorts of things, whether it was presenting GMTV or LBC or Smooth Radio quiz shows, I’ve done a lot of things in broadcasting, but what’s in my DNA is tennis, of course.
“And if I’m covering tennis, and I used to work for Sky Sports, these days it would be TNT or something, you present tennis in a very different way you present sport. You are there talking to people who have turned on the TV, found the channel and gone click, so you can start talking about the intricacies of the game, the eastern grip versus the western and how it comes off.
“You did that to a BBC audience of, let’s say, three million people, they’re going to go, ‘what’s this idiot talking about?’ So you don’t broadcast in the same way.”
Asked by presenter Paul Coyte what his “most emotional moment” was after his final commentary, Mr Castle told GB News that he was most overcome when he returned home from Wimbledon.
He said: “John Stapleton was a great mate of mine, and he always said there’ll be a tap on the shoulder one day. He said, you’ll never know when it’s coming.
“The most emotional moment for me was coming home, and my two daughters were home with my wife Sophia, I had a gin and tonic and they’d given me a couple of little gifts. That was the most emotional moment leaving the place.
“But I’m back there on Wednesday playing anyway because it reverts to a private club, and it’s just an awesome place to be. So not too sad, not too sad yet, just glad the last month’s over in the build up to saying bye bye.”
Discussing Mr Castle’s exit from the BBC, Director of Sport Alex Kay-Jelski said the broadcaster had “done an absolute brilliant innings”.
He said: “I’m not going to get into private conversations. We asked Andrew to stay, because we think he’s excellent.
“He’s been doing this for 20 years, and then he took the decision, therefore, that is enough.
“I think even he said this week that he was told face-to-face and it was done nicely. He’s done an absolute brilliant innings.”
