Andrew Castle has resigned from his BBC role after being informed of a demotion for next year, with the commentator choosing to walk away after this year's Wimbledon.
Castle's Departure from BBC
The player-turned-broadcaster has been one of the voices of Wimbledon for more than 20 years, but was told that BBC bosses wanted to go in a different direction and rejig their coverage. That involved him having to accept a lesser role going forward. However, Castle has chosen to walk away entirely from the BBC, and this year's Wimbledon, which gets underway in just under a month, will be his final Championships with the broadcaster.
A BBC Spokesperson said: "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."
Castle's Reflections
Castle has opened up about his future in an interview with the Times, where he stated that those in charge of BBC Sport's coverage wanted to change the way they were doing things - which ultimately meant a change in job responsibilities. The 62-year-old accepts he was fortunate to get the role when he got the gig 23 years ago, but has relished every moment and feels lucky to have held the job.
He said: "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."
A Changing of the Guard
Castle will be the latest BBC stalwart to be absent come 2027. Only four years ago, Sue Barker stepped down as the main anchor for Wimbledon. Castle was Britain’s No 1 men’s singles player in 1986, and made the third round at the US Open in 1987, losing in four sets to Boris Becker. He later established himself as a commentator at GMTV and has worked for Sky Sports as well as working with the BBC.
