Vanessa Feltz has been left red-faced after her radio presenting was slated in an email from a top BBC boss.
In a confidential message BBC London station editor David Robey accidentally sent to staff, he claimed Vanessa’s breakfast show “lacked personality”, adding producers face “a constant battle” with her to get the pace and tone of it right.
The email, which was leaked to The Sun, also cast doubt on her future with the station, after she lost nearly 50,000 listeners.
It read: “When we launched Vanessa’s breakfast programme, we were aware we would have to find the right balance between her skills and the much tighter format.
″[We] tried to create more time for her personality and interaction... but it still felt constricted and lacking personality.”
It added: “Vanessa loves a long interview... but it’s a constant battle to get her to suit the pace of breakfast.”
David believed he was emailing BBC London staff about a new TV trailer, but mistakenly included Vanessa’s annual review.
According to The Sun, he quickly realised his error and asked employees to delete the email without reading it.
A BBC spokesperson insisted Vanessa still has the corporation’s backing, stating: “We regularly review our output.
“Vanessa is an award-winning presenter whose programmes have consistently delivered strong listening figures over many years.
“She is an asset to the station and we have every confidence in her.”
HuffPost UK has also contacted a representative for Vanessa for further comment.
Vanessa was one of those named on the report on BBC salaries last month, which revealed she pocketed between £350,000 and £399,999 last year, for her work on BBC London and BBC Radio 2.
The figure marked her as one of the BBC’s highest-paid female radio broadcasters, although it is still a long way off what some of the corporation’s male talent earn for similar jobs.
Last week, Vanessa was the subject of a controversial Sunday Times column written by Kevin Myers, which suggested she and Claudia Winkleman earned high salaries because they are Jewish.
She spoke out about the subject on her radio show, branding it “so obviously racist it’s surprisingly hurtful”.
She said: “I would have thought after all these years I’d be immune or used to it, but that’s not at all how I felt. I felt extremely upset. The apologies are all very well, but how did it end up in the paper in the first place?”
The online version was taken down and Kevin Myers has also been sacked for the column.