John McCririck Accuses Channel 4 Of 'Ageism' As He's Axed From Horse Racing Coverage

Horse racing broadcaster John McCririck has accused Channel 4 of "ageism", after he was axed from the channel this week.

The charismatic 72-year-old, who has appeared on 'Celebrity Big Brother' twice, has covered betting for 31 years, first on ITV then Channel 4.

He noted that of the 13 people now presenting Channel 4's racing coverage, only Jim McGrath was over 50.

John McCririck has been axed from Channel 4

He wrote on Twitter:

And The Sun reports he said: "Naturally I am devastated at being sacked. According to Channel 4, I’m being sacked after audience research.”

He added: “It is so sad that Channel 4 boss Jay Hunt and production chief Carl Hicks, both long-time BBC executives, have again gone down their well-worn path of ageism.”

The veteran pundit, 72, is being replaced by sidekick Tanya Stevenson and next year's racing coverage will be lead by Clare Balding.

Balding, one of the stars of the BBC's Olympics coverage, will also front a Saturday night entertainment show, 'Britain's Brightest', early next year which puts 24 brainboxes to the test to find the ultimate egghead.

A Channel 4 spokeswoman told the BBC the new team "reflects our desire to give a new approach to covering horseracing as we become the terrestrial home of the sport".