Johnny Ball has claimed that he was dumped by the BBC when he turned 50 and that the same happens to other presenters when they reach that age.
The 88-year-old, whose daughter is former BBC Radio 2 host Zoe Ball, hosted various children’s programmes on the network from 1967 onwards, including Play School, Think of a Number and Johnny Ball Reveals All.
His final episodes of Johnny Ball Reveals All aired in 1994, when he was 56. He later competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2012 but was eliminated in the first week.
Speaking about his experience on the BBC last week, Ball told The Dorchester Literary Festival that he “loved every minute of it” but was “gone” when he hit his Fifties.
“I did Play School for 17 years, I wrote nearly all of Play Away then I did Think Of A Number and Think Again,” he told according to The Daily Mail.
“I loved every minute of it. But what happens when you are 50 at the BBC? Gone! Zoe was 54. Gone! You cannot believe it because we gave so much to the BBC.”
The Independent has contacted the BBC for comment.
Despite her father’s recent comments, Zoe Ball stepped down from the Radio 2 Breakfast Show in December 2024 after six years to spend more time with her family and has never suggested that she was a victim of ageism.
In July, Zoe announced that she was returning to radio and joining Greatest Hits Radio, having got her daughter Nelly, 16, through her GCSEs and not been picked to host Strictly Come Dancing after Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman exists. “Having not worked, I suddenly started thinking I do need to go back to work,” she said. “It’s a lovely shift, it’s one till four which is great because it means I get to be mum in the morning and mum in the evening if I need to.”
She also thanked her boss at BBC Radio 2, Helen Thomas, for being “so brilliantly supportive” and looking after her “both professionally and personally with all sorts of stuff through my time at Radio 2”.
Also during his talk at the Dorchester Library Festival, Johnny Ball gave his verdict on new Strictly Come Dancing host Josh Widdicombe, who presents the show alongside Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe.
“Josh is not a Bruce Forsyth. He is a lovely bloke and I have met him a couple of times but he is not a domineering comedian as some comedians like Bruce Forsyth were,” he said.
The comedian has faced criticism over the last few months, with some unsatisfied with his presenting style on the show. However, judge Shirley Ballas recently came to his defence, saying that that she thinks “he’s brilliant at his job”.
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