The BBC’s director of sport has insisted that he wanted Andrew Castle to stay as part of the Wimbledon’s commentary team amid the fallout from the broadcaster’s departure.
Alex Kay-Jelski confirmed that Castle, 62, had decided to quit the BBC after being told that he was being demoted from lead commentator – and this year’s men’s final would be his last.
But Kay-Jelski insisted that Castle had “an absolutely brilliant innings” and that he had wanted him to stay on in 2027 and beyond.
“I’m not going to get into private conversations,” said Kay-Jelski. “We asked Andrew to stay, because we think he’s excellent. He’s been doing this for 20 years, and he took the decision that that’s enough.”
He also clarified that Castle was told by the BBC “this was going to be his last men’s final”, adding: “I think he said this week that it was done face to face, done nicely, he’s done an absolutely brilliant innings.”
Last week Castle admitted he had been hurt by the BBC’s decision, telling the Telegraph: “Am I upset? Yeah, I was upset, and I will stay that way this year, knowing it’s my last. But all good things come to an end.”
Castle said he would have preferred for his final Wimbledon to be in 2027, to mark a quarter century of commentating for the BBC. “It would have been my 25th year,” he added. “But who’s bleating?”
Asked how he would approach the search for Castle’s replacement, Kay-Jelski replied: “To go and get the best person” regardless of their age or gender.
“You asked there about age and gender, I don’t ever look at that,” he said. “It’s just not how my brain works, and it won’t be how the team’s brain works,” he said. “You just look at who the best people are, sometimes the best person is X, sometimes the best person is Y.
“You can see that with pundit lineups. You can have Laura Robson and Eugenie Bouchard. You can also have Tracy Austin, who probably knows more about tennis than all of us put together. I just don’t think it’s about male, female and age.”
Kay-Jelski also revealed that Laura Robson would be adding analysis from courtside during matches, starting with Serena Williams’ first round encounter against Maya Joint, the first time it has happened at Wimbledon.
“We’re adding more analysis,” he said. “It’s good insight for BBC Wimbledon viewers. It’s something new, it’s something different. I think we should just try stuff. We shouldn’t be scared to try.”
