She has hosted the Saturday morning show on Radio Wales for the last five years. Carol Vorderman has left her BBC radio show over the corporation’s new social media guidelines. The former Countdown co-host said she was “not prepared to lose [her] voice on social media”. (Photo: Carol left the BBC).

Ms Vorderman said BBC Wales management had “decided [she] must leave” as she had “breached the new guidelines”. She has presented the Saturday morning show on the station for the last five years. Ms Vorderman said it had been explained to her that the new guidelines would apply to “all and any content” posted by her throughout the year. This was “despite [her] show being lighthearted with no political content,” she added.

She said she did not want to lose the ability to express her “strong beliefs” on “the political turmoil this country finds itself in”. “My decision has been to continue to criticise the current UK government for what it has done to the country which I love – and I’m not prepared to stop,” she said. “I was brought up to fight for what I believe in, and I will carry on.”

Earlier this year, Match of the Day host Gary Lineker was taken off the air by the BBC after criticising the government’s asylum policy on social media. New guidelines were then introduced by the broadcaster which state high-profile BBC presenters should be free to express their views on political issues, as long as they stop short of campaigning.

Ms Vorderman previously told the Sky News Daily podcast she would “wait and see” what the guidelines were and “make a decision based on that”. “I’ve had all sorts of experiences in broadcasting, some of them not so good,” she said. “The vast majority of them are wonderful. So I’m a very lucky woman. Life is what life is.” In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, Ms Vorderman thanked her listeners, saying: “You made me laugh so much.”

She also said she was “sad to have to leave the wonderful friends I’ve made at Radio Wales”. “I wish them, and all of our listeners, all the love in the world,” she added. A BBC spokesperson said: “Carol has been a presenter on BBC Radio Wales since 2018. We’d like to thank her for her work and contribution to the station over the past five years.”

Courtesy: By Tomos Evans, Wales reporter @TomosGruffydd