Carol Vorderman, renowned for her long-standing presence on British television since her debut on Countdown in 1982, has opened up about some of her less favourable experiences on screen. While she has appeared on a wide range of programmes - from Loose Women to Have I Got News for You - she candidly admitted that not all her television appearances were enjoyable.
During an interview on Sally Lindsay’s podcast, A Night In, Carol reflected on her time on various celebrity reality shows. She recalled, “I did Strictly Come Dancing in the second series,” adding that it was Clare Sweeney’s persuasion that led her to participate, as Sweeney had been on the first series. However, Carol was unequivocal in her feelings about the experience: “And I hated it. I won’t do that again,” she stated, though wryly noting, “Not that they’d ever ask.”
Emphasising her strong preferences regarding television work, she made it clear there are some shows she would categorically avoid. “I would never do Big Brother. I’d be cancelled before I set foot through the bloody door,” she said.
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Carol also touched upon her tenure with the BBC’s flagship popular science programme Tomorrow’s World, describing it as another chapter she would prefer not to revisit. Having spent many years on Countdown, she explained how she was approached for the role unexpectedly: “The BBC rang up my agent one day and said, ‘we’d really like to talk to you - we’re thinking of changing all the presenters on Tomorrow’s World - because we’ve done a focus group and in our focus group we gave a list of 20 names and 80% of the people said ‘We want Carol Vorderman.'”
The role was appealing, requiring only one day’s work per week, and came with a respectable fee. However, contractual issues soon arose when Carol received the agreement specifying she had to be exclusive to the BBC and could no longer appear on Countdown. She responded firmly, “That’s never going to happen. I’m not giving Countdown up ever. That’s not going to happen.”
Her stance led the BBC to modify the contract, and she went on to join Tomorrow’s World. Yet difficulties emerged while filming in Australia. Upon returning to her hotel, she received a call instructing her to contact her agent. It transpired that BBC executives had discovered she had previously appeared in advertisements for a soap powder brand.
“Loads of arguments went on and then in the end they said ‘You’re sacked,'” Carol recalled. This decision led to her being dropped from several BBC commitments, including a regular Radio Times column, sparking a media controversy.
Carol vehemently challenged the dismissal, highlighting the gender bias she perceived: “I wrote articles saying ‘Hang on, this is just sexism. I’m sacked for doing an advert when Noel Edmonds is doing Noel’s Maxwell House coffee adverts and Terry Wogan, who was one of their biggest stars, was doing British Gas.'”
Following the backlash, she returned to Countdown alongside her close friend Richard Whiteley. Nevertheless, Tomorrow’s World suffered a sharp decline in viewing figures after her departure. The show’s editor subsequently reached out, seeking to reinstate her, albeit with a strict condition of confidentiality.
Recalling the meeting, Carol said, “He said the fatal words, ‘If you tell anyone that we’re offering you your job back, we will deny it.’ I said, ‘Fine.’ I rang my agent as soon as I came out of the meeting - it’s terrible, really - I said, ‘John, keep stringing them along till a week or two before transmission and then tell them where to go.’ That’s what we did!”
Carol Vorderman’s revelations provide a rare glimpse behind the scenes of British television, illustrating the challenges and complexities she navigated throughout her varied broadcasting career.