Andrew Castle is BBC's fall guy: Axed Wimbledon commentator is another casualty in boss Alex Kay-Jelski's 'purge' to modernise 'stale and outdated' coverage, PR experts say

By MARK DUELL, DEPUTY CHIEF REPORTER (DIGITAL) Published: 12:42, 17 June 2026 | Updated: 12:43, 17 June 2026 Andrew Castle became the BBC's fall guy as he was dropped from Wimbledon because bosses are trying to modernise their 'stale and outdated' tennis coverage, sports PR experts said today. Castle, a former top 100 player and host of the GMTV breakfast show, has been one of the voices of the tournament having spent 23 years as its lead commentator. But BBC head of sport Alex Kay-Jelski has decided to take its coverage in a new direction, and so this year will be the last for the 62-year-old veteran broadcaster. The corporation confirmed to the Daily Mail that it wanted Castle to continue working for them in a different role at Wimbledon next year, but he made the choice to leave. Kay-Jelski has overseen a modernisation of BBC Sport in recent years as he tries to bring in new and younger audiences while cutting costs – including axing Football Focus after 52 years and basing this year's World Cup coverage studio in Salford. Kay-Jelski insisted not hosting from the US until at least the quarter-finals will see the BBC cut its carbon emissions by a fifth compared with the 2022 Qatar World Cup. He also oversaw Gary Lineker exiting Match of the Day and the new diverse line-up with Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan and Kelly Cates sharing duties on a rotating basis. Meanwhile Kay-Jelski has chosen to end the BBC's televised coverage of the annual Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race for the first time in nearly a century; and worked on a deal to continue broadcasting the Women's Super League until at least 2030. Sports media expert Rob Stewart described Castle as the 'fall guy' as the BBC tries to modernise output after the All England Club demanded a revamp to its coverage. Mr Stewart, who runs Bristol-based firm About On The Up PR, told the Mail: 'They say time waits for no man or woman and that certainly applies to tennis as well, judging by the Beeb's decision to ditch Sue Barker and now Andrew Castle as they want to take coverage in a new direction. 'He's now playing the role of fall guy as the Beeb try to modernise and revamp the coverage to attract and retain audiences following a warning that emerged at the start of this year that Wimbledon chiefs had told the BBC to revamp stale, outdated coverage. Andrew Castle has spent 23 years as the BBC's lead commentator for Wimbledon BBC head of sport Alex Kay-Jelski is pictured in the Wimbledon Royal Box in July last year 'The All England Club was reported to have demanded a significant improvement to its output with the broadcaster set to hold on to the highly coveted rights and that put Castle right in the firing line after 23 years behind the mic. 'He's taken it with commendable grace and probably saw it coming with BBC sports chief Alex Kay-Jelski needing to take action against the backdrop of All England Club disquiet as tennis coverage elsewhere goes from strength to strength.' Mr Stewart said there was 'no guarantee that the shiny new replacement will be any better' than Castle, which could give an advantage to broadcast rivals eyeing Wimbledon rights at a time BBC budgets are being cut. He continued: 'As an active tennis club player here in Bristol and former sports journalist, it's only right to acknowledge Castle isn't perfect, but then who is? 'It must be tough being on the tennis front line but let's not forget how he rose to the occasion when he needed to, none more so than when Andy Murray ended 77 years of hurt. 'Love him or hate him, Wimbledon just won't be the same without Andrew Castle and whatever people think of him, he will leave the SW19 commentary box with his head held high. 'He's done a fine job but the future belongs to someone else but the quality of its output will face intense scrutiny when the 100th anniversary of the Beeb's first ever radio broadcast from Wimbledon gets under way with Castle.' Fellow sports PR expert Lee McLaughlan, who runs the Sweetspot Communications agency, said he believed Castle was 'another casualty' of the sports chief's drive for change. He told the Daily Mail: 'Is this really a surprise given Alex Kay-Jelski's track record since taking on the job as the BBC's director of sport? 'This year alone he has taken the decision to axe the institution that is Football Focus, has said the BBC doesn't need live sport to remain relevant. The decision to host the BBC's World Cup coverage from Salford and not the USA has also brought derision. 'It seems Andrew Castle is just another casualty in this purge to 'modernise' the BBC's sports coverage. 'Wimbledon is arguably the last remaining crown jewel that BBC Sport has. When you turn on the TV to watch Wimbledon you know what you're going to get and Castle's warm tones and insight is part of that. 'To switch and "take the coverage in a new direction" is a bold but risky decision.' Kay-Jelski, 42, joined the BBC in 2024 as director of sport and earns £230,000 a year. He began his career in 2007 as a trainee sub-editor at the Daily Mail, working his way up to sports editor before moving to the same role at The Times in 2015. Andrew Castle said he was building a house with wife Sophia, pictured together in June 2024 Andrew Castle with co-commentators Tim Henman and John McEnroe at Wimbledon in 2008 Revealing the news of his departure last night, Castle told the Times: 'It's been a hell of a journey. I can't say I have enjoyed every minute because there have been moments of pressure and controversy, but it has been a huge privilege. 'To be honest, when I got the job 23 years ago, a lot of the more experienced commentators felt that they should have been first in line. 'Their noses were put out of joint. So, in the wider scheme of things, I am lucky that I had the best gig in sports broadcasting for so long, during the greatest age of men's tennis.' Castle reached a career-high ranking of 80th in the world, competing against players such as Boris Becker and Mats Wilander. He twice made the second round of Wimbledon. But he became far better known for his post-career work behind the camera, at Wimbledon and as the host for a decade of GMTV, ITV's breakfast show. Castle also worked for LBC radio and hosted the breakfast show on Smooth Radio for two years. Asked what he will do after his BBC exit, Castle said: 'My wife Sophia and I are building a house and we're about to have a third grandchild, so things are good. I am not sure what will come next professionally, but whatever it is, I'll embrace it.' Some tennis fans welcomed Castle's departure - with one posting on X that he 'constantly talks and he definitely suffers from verbal diarrhoea', while another said: 'He speaks more like a GMTV presenter than a commentator.' But others were sorry to see him go - including media commentator Kelvin MacKenzie, former editor of the Sun, who tweeted: 'Don't agree with the BBC dumping Andrew Castle as a major commentator after this year's Wimbledon. 'The decision was made by the BBC's Head of Sport Alex Kay-Jelski who has already proved his poor judgment by basing its World Cup coverage in Salford while ITV has a spectacular and much admired set in Brooklyn. Andrew Castle was the host for a decade of ITV's show GMTV (pictured with Fiona Phillips) Castle, pictured at Wimbleon in 1996, reached a career-high ranking of 80th in the world 'Castle has put in a magnificent 23 years with the BBC and I imagine healthy contracts await from TNT and the streamers. Always thought the BBC having a Head of Sport was a little like the Daily Star having a City Editor. Kay-Jelski wants tennis coverage to 'go in a different direction'. Might be a better idea if he did.' Castle has suffered some gaffes over the years, including referring to Trinity Rodman, the US women's footballer and girlfriend of American tennis star Ben Shelton, as 'Tiffany' during Wimbledon. In June 2022, Castle came under fire from viewers for saying he was looking forward to welcoming Becker back while the German was in jail.  Becker was sentenced to two years and six months at Southwark Crown Court that April for hiding £2.5million worth of assets and loans to avoid paying off debts. 'I've had a real moment of missing Boris,' Castle said to a BBC audience watching the Queen's Club Championships. 'I know he's in prison and I know why. Boris, we look forward to welcoming you on your return.' He also had to apologise when he made a silly remark about British player Marcus Willis' girlfriend in July 2016.  Jenny Bates is a dental surgeon, to which the commentator quipped: 'It's a pity my dentist doesn't look like that.' He was criticised on that occasion for casual sexism. At Queen's two years ago, Castle hit out at then-champion Carlos Alcaraz when it was alleged he was unhappy at the way his name was being pronounced. Castle referred to him as 'Al-ca-raz' rather than the correct Spanish way, 'Al-ca-rath'. 'Is he (Alcaraz) talking about how he wants his name said?' Castle said. 'His name is 'Al-ca-rath' but if you go on the pronunciation on the ATP's website it's 'Al-ca-raz'. All day long we could worry about these. We will call him (Alcaraz) the Spaniard.' A BBC spokesperson said today: 'We wanted Andrew to continue with the BBC at Wimbledon next year, but he has now decided that this year will be his last. 'We look forward to working with him at the 2026 Championships and thank him for his great work leading our commentary team there for more than 20 years.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. 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