‘Giggling’ BBC host savaged for ‘Am I allowed to be this gleeful?’ quip after Boris quit PM race

Charlie Herbert

‘Am I allowed to be this gleeful? Well, I am!’

A BBC News host has been criticised for laughing and saying she was “gleeful” following the news that Boris Johnson had dropped out of the race to become the next Tory leader.

On Sunday night, the former Prime Minister confirmed he would not challenge for the Tory leadership despite his camp’s claims that he had reached the required threshold of 100 Tory MP nominations.

When the news broke on the BBC, presenter Martine Croxall couldn’t contain her excitement about the rapid developments in the Conservative leadership race.

She told viewers: “Well, this is all very exciting, isn’t it? Am I allowed to be this gleeful? Well, I am!”

Later in the segment, she could be heard giggling and interrupted one of her guests: “Sorry! I shouldn’t probably. I’m probably breaking some sort of terrible due impartiality rule by giggling.”

Parliamentary journalist Tony Grew was reacting to Boris Johnson dropping out of the race and speaking of the prospect of a general election.

But he was cut short as the BBC presenter could not stop laughing. As Croxall apologised, Grew said: “That’s alright. I keep on making you laugh. I’m sorry.”

The clip was quickly shared online by people who thought the giggling was unprofessional and broke the BBC’s rules on impartiality.

One person labelled her “biased” for celebrating Boris Johnson pulling out of the Tory leadership election.

Biased BBC presenter celebrates Boris Johnson pulling out of the Tory leadership election pic.twitter.com/ssMrQk0m6T

— Mahyar Tousi (@MahyarTousi) October 23, 2022

Meanwhile, political adviser Nick Timothy said: “Whatever you think of Johnson if you care about the BBC you cannot think this is in any way acceptable from one of its presenters.”

And Johnson’s number one fan Nadine Dorries claimed the clip was an example of “deep seated” bias within the BBC.

The BBC is a public service broadcaster paid for by the general public who overwhelmingly voted for a Conservative government.
This lack of impartiality demonstrates how deep seated the bias is. https://t.co/EvBxsGcYf0

— Rt Hon Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) October 24, 2022

Whatever you think of Johnson, if you care about the BBC you cannot think this is in any way acceptable from one of its presenters. pic.twitter.com/ihiCXXrz09

— Nick Timothy (@NJ_Timothy) October 24, 2022

But others have defended Croxall, pointing out that she was in fact just excited about the major news development happening whilst she was on air.

Some shared a longer version of the clip which provided more context for the presenter’s ‘glee.’

Here's the whole clip. pic.twitter.com/P6lFIEpEcx

— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) October 24, 2022

One person said Croxall’s reaction was “perfectly acceptable”, adding: “It’s quite plain she’s gleeful about how this has injected excitement into the newspaper review — not about Johnson’s immolation.”

It’s perfectly acceptable. It’s quite plain she’s gleeful about how this has injected excitement into the newspaper review — not about Johnson’s immolation. https://t.co/yeQaLpsC4f

— 🥃Donald Clarke📽️ (@DonaldClarke63) October 24, 2022

She didn't state a political position. She just said she was gleeful.

Is happiness now a political position?

I guess it must be as you and yours have sacked all thd joy from this country.

— Tintenfische (@Tintenfische1) October 24, 2022

Boris Johnson dropped out of the Tory leadership election on Sunday night, saying that he was doing so for the sake of the Conservative Party’s unity.

Though he claimed he secured the 100 Tory MPs’ votes to qualify for the contest, he said he “can’t govern effectively” without a “united party in Parliament”.

It is now widely expected that Rishi Sunak will become the party’s third leader in three months. He has secured the backing of more than half of Tory MPs, with his only challenger Penny Mordaunt scrambling to reach the 100 nomination threshold by 2pm on Monday afternoon.

Related links: