In a shocking twist back in 2009, Charlotte Smith and three other female presenters were abruptly axed from Countryfile in what was branded as alleged ageism.
The scandal also enveloped Michaela Strachan, Juliet Morris, and Miriam O’Reilly, with the latter winning an age discrimination case against the BBC. The tribunal found that Charlotte’s dismissal was indeed due to ageism.
Charlotte revealed during the tribunal: “I was told by a member of the team that I would not be able to pass the primetime test because I was not young or pretty.”
Following her tribunal triumph, it was announced that Charlotte would make a comeback to Countryfile after a five-year absence. She returned to the show to fill in for investigative reporter Tom Heap while he took a break.
Charlotte excitedly shared her return to television on Twitter at the time, posting a picture of herself on set, clad in wellies, a blue hair net, and a lab coat, captioning it: “I’ve been presenting for Countryfile today. TV just as glamorous as I remember.”
The BBC confirmed that Charlotte was indeed stepping in for Tom temporarily.
Express.co.uk reached out to the BBC for comment.
Since then, Charlotte has become a staple on Countryfile, and this week she joined Adam Henson on an adventure along the Camel Trail in north Cornwall.
She went southwards along the trail towards Bodmin, where she discovered how the landscape inspired a family to chase their dream of establishing a vineyard.
At the end of the Camel Trail, Charlotte paid a visit to the National Lobster Hatchery, a place dedicated to breeding lobsters to replenish the population in the waters off north Cornwall.
Away from Cornwall, Charlotte delved into the latest strategies to combat TB in cattle across England and Wales.
The presenter recently confessed that there’s one location she refuses to film at as it’s “too embarrassing”.
Speaking to The Sun, the 60-year-old admitted: “Since I had my knee done I don’t like stiles. I find them very difficult because my bionic knee, my replacement knee, doesn’t bend quite… so that’s very inelegant. Another presenter you might see doing the stiles but for me, it’s too embarrassing so we cut that out.”
Countryfile airs tonight at 7pm on BBC One.