BBC bosses made the decision to replace Clive Myrie during Friday’s edition of News At Ten, following his appearance on Have I Got News For You.
Clive hosted last week’s edition of the topical panel show for the fourth time in his career, during which he poked fun at the past seven days’ worth of headlines, most notably revolving around former PM Boris Johnson.
“After being found by the House of Commons committee to have lied repeatedly, Boris Johnson takes the opportunity to deny that he’s ever been jogging or has a dog,” he was heard joking, alongside footage of the former MP running alongside his dog.
However, according to The Times, content chief Charlotte Moore had concerns about potential “impartiality accusations”, and the decision was made that Friday’s news bulletin – which aired immediately after the pre-recorded Have I Got News For You episode – should not be hosted by Clive.
Instead, The Times claimed that Jane Hill was “parachuted in” as a “last minute” replacement.
The newspaper quoted an unnamed “BBC executive”, who said: “It didn’t feel right for Clive to go almost straight to the news when he’d just been making jokes. It was a tonal thing rather than due to anyone being overly anxious.”
A BBC spokesperson had no comment when contacted by HuffPost UK.
Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker – who was himself embroiled in a high-profile debate about BBC impartiality earlier in the year – has since spoken out on the reports.
“Oh for crying out loud!” he tweeted. “If the BBC invite [Clive Myrie] to present HIGNFY, the chances are there’ll be political jokes.”
Clarifying the situation during an appearance on Thursday’s edition, Clive confirmed that he had been pulled from the show with less than 24 hours’ notice.
“It was nothing to do with the jokes, they’d have just pulled the programme if it was the jokes, it was because the two programmes were too close together,” he insisted, agreeing it would be “too weird” to have him cracking jokes in one show before immediately presenting the news in another.
On how it felt to be replaced on News At Ten, Clive said: “Why would I be bothered? I did the six o’clock News that night.”
HuffPost UK has contacted Clive Myrie’s management for additional comment.
Have I Got News For You has been guest hosted by BBC broadcasters past and present, including David Dimbleby, Naga Munchetty, Steph McGovern and Jeremy Paxman.
The long-running satirical show has had no permanent presenter since Angus Deayton stepped down more than 20 years ago.
This article has been updated to include Clive Myrie’s comments on Steph’s Packed Lunch.