Andrew Castle, the BBC's lead Wimbledon commentator for 23 years, delivered a parting shot live on air during his final men's final broadcast, claiming he was being "booted" from the coverage. The 62-year-old revealed ahead of the tournament that this year's championship would be his last after the BBC informed him he would be demoted from his role.
Castle's Emotional Farewell
During a segment before the men's final between Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev, Castle was joined by John Lloyd and presenter Rishi Persad. As the discussion wrapped up, Persad noted they were "running out of time" but took a moment to wish Castle well on his farewell appearance. Castle responded: "Yes, I am a bit sad about it, of course. I have fabulous memories, even working with John. And John is finishing as well, we're being put out to grass, I mean that's it. Booted."
Lloyd, who will also not be part of next year's coverage, added: "I've had a good run. We were talking about it earlier, I started when there was still black and white TV, so it's been a while. You didn't start that young, you're much younger than me and you were great to work with and I loved every minute of it." Castle closed the segment by saying: "Well, I did too. My kids were eight and 10 when I did my first Wimbledon final and they're now married. One has children and there's one expecting on the way so don't tell me there's nothing to do."
Replaced by Andrew Cotter
Castle's departure comes as the BBC plans to replace him with Andrew Cotter as lead commentator for next year's tournament. Castle admitted he was "upset" about his exit and described the decision as unexpected. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: "I'm approaching it [the final] in exactly the same way I have the other ones. I'm taking a few more pictures this time because I know it's coming to an end. I don't hide this, I'm very, very sad and disappointed and all these other things. There's a sense of grief that goes with this because there's so many memories. I've never taken it for granted."
Behind the Decision
Castle explained that the news was delivered respectfully by Phil Bernie from BBC Sport, who said the corporation was "going in a different direction for the final next year" but wanted Castle to remain part of the team. After discussing it with his wife Sophia and children, Castle declined the offer. "Once you've done the final, everything else is less. It's such an event, such a thing," he said. Castle has been the BBC's lead Wimbledon commentator since 2003, covering 23 consecutive finals before this year's match between Sinner and Zverev.
