Question of Sport: Paddy McGuinness introduces new round
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Although Sue Barker was at the helm of Question Of Sport for 24 years, the presenter was axed from the BBC show along with team captains Matt Dawson and Phil Tufnell. However, since her exit, the programme has seen a drastic decline in rating since Paddy McGuinness took over.
Sue left the show two years ago after the BBC decided it was going to have a major shake-up.
Although since her replacement Paddy McGuinness has fronted the sports quizzing series, viewership ratings have struggled.
It is understood that this series’ figures peaked at 850,000 with its lowest being 730,000 on August 19, as quoted by The Mirror.
However, when Sue was at the forefront of the BBC show, it regularly raked in four to five million people.
Also joining Paddy in the panel shake-up were hockey player Sam Quek and rugby star Ugo Monye as the new team captains.
When it was revealed that Sue was leaving, the 66-year-old admitted to being “gobsmacked” and “insulted” with how the broadcaster handled her exit.
She said: “I was sent a statement that the BBC wanted me to approve immediately, saying the three of us had decided to step aside.
“They hadn’t bothered to get a quote from me. Why hadn’t they reacted to our request earlier? Why had we been shown so little respect?
“I told the BBC to own their decision and declare publicly that they wanted to refresh the show; I wasn’t going to lie to make it easier for them.”
However, in a U-turn, the BBC then offered her the job back, which she declined.
Sue admitted to turning down the role as she felt as though they did not want her anymore.
At the time Sue exited the show, a spokeswoman for the BBC thanked the presenter for her enormous contribution to Question of Sport as its longest-reigning host
Paddy’s first series as host saw Question of Sport attract 2.2 million viewers, although those figures have taken a drastic blow,
In a recent episode of the latest season, fans have demanded the BBC bring back Sue after introducing a new round to the show.
The presenter welcomed viewers before saying: “We’ve got a brand new round for you now.
“Each of our guests will have a chance to get themselves on the podium.”
Explaining the round, Paddy stated that the guests can opt for a bronze, silver or gold question.
Paddy added that bronze questions would be worth one point on their own sport, silver would be two points on another sport and gold would be three points on a mystery sport.
Although with the introduction of a new round along with the new panel, fans took to Twitter to beg for the show to return to its former set-up.
Adam Plows asked: “What has happened to the beautiful #QuestionofSport.”
Jaydees said: “Question of sport isn’t the same. Bring back, Sue. Get rid of Paddy McGuinness. #QuestionofSport #bbc.” (sic)
Question of Sport airs on Friday at 8pm on BBC One.
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