BBC star back on TV after being kept off air for more than year

MARTINE Croxall is back on BBC News after launching a tribunal claim against the corporation.

The journalist, 55, has alleged she was kept off air for a year after being snubbed for a chief presenter role.

Announcing her return, Croxall posted on X: “Ya’ll ready for this? Back on BBC News at 1100 BST.”

The presenter, who has worked for the BBC since October 1991, also posted a video of herself in the studio saying: “Now, where were we?”

Croxall spent nearly two weeks off air in 2022 over claims she had shown bias when Boris Johnson pulled out of the Tory leadership contest.

She then teamed up with fellow journalists Kasia Madera, Karin Giannone and Annita McVeigh to accuse the corporation of “a sham recruitment exercise” for chief presenter roles following the merger of its BBC News and World News channels.

Madera, who returned earlier this month, posted on X: “Great to see my friend @MartineBBC back on @BBCNews.”

Giannone called it a “treat” and wrote: “As soon as the leg mends, I’ll be there too.”

Earlier this month, the four journalists were seen together at a preliminary hearing for their legal action at the Central London Employment Tribunal.

The women allege discrimination on the grounds of age, sex, and pay, and claim they have suffered victimisation, harassment and reputational damage.

It is believed the BBC’s position is that it complied with equal pay legislation, applied a rigorous and fair recruitment process, and that all managers conducted that process properly.