BBC News presenter Martine Croxall has been formally censured after correcting the phrase “pregnant people” to “women” during a June broadcast, with the corporation’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) ruling that her conduct breached impartiality guidelines.
The incident took place during a segment on heatwave risks featuring research from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Reading from her autocue, Croxall said:
The aged, pregnant people—women—and those with pre-existing health conditions need to take precautions.
Viewers noticed her rolling her eyes before making the correction, prompting twenty public complaints.
The ECU concluded that her facial expression and decision to alter the script gave “the strong impression of expressing a personal view on a controversial matter,” namely ongoing disputes over transgender terminology. While investigators said her expression suggested “exasperation” rather than “disgust, ridicule or contempt,” they found the moment still breached BBC standards of impartiality.
BBC management initially defended Croxall, describing the teleprompter wording as “awkward” and uncharacteristic of the broadcaster’s house style. However, the ECU maintained that even an inadvertent impression of bias was unacceptable.
The decision provoked a storm of reaction online. Croxall received widespread messages of support on X, with one user writing: “Keep rolling those eyes, we’re all behind you.”
The Free Speech Union likewise condemned the ruling as “outrageous,” arguing that “holding gender-critical views should not be a disciplinary offence” and that using the phrase “pregnant people” was itself a political statement.
Prominent scientist Richard Dawkins also criticised the BBC’s decision, writing:
Give her a medal! Her facial expression “indicated a particular viewpoint in the controversies currently surrounding trans identity.” Well of course it did. But whoever put “pregnant people” in the script in the first place did too. In a big way.
Author and anti-trans activist J.K. Rowling had previously called Croxall her “new favourite BBC presenter.”
The controversy comes amid broader questions over the BBC’s impartiality. A leaked internal memo recently accused the corporation of misleading editing in its coverage of Donald Trump and of bias in its reporting on Israel and transgender issues.
As europeanconservative.com columnist Lauren Smith wrote in a recent commentary:
This new dossier simply confirms what many of us already knew—that the BBC has been taken over by activists … It can no longer be in doubt that the days of an impartial, trustworthy BBC are over. Its ideological capture is now complete.
