Andrew Castle signed off from BBC Wimbledon coverage after 23 years by joking he had been ‘booted’ from his role by the broadcaster.
Former top-100 player and host of the GMTV breakfast show, Castle, 62, has been one of the voices of the tournament but the BBC has decided to take their coverage in a new direction, and so this year will be his last.
The BBC have offered Castle a different role but he insisted this would be his last Championships. ‘This year will be my final final, 23 in all over 24 years,’ he said. ‘They want me to stay on the team but I will depart with gratitude.’
Asked about his future plans, he 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.’
He signed off on Sunday after commentary of the men’s final, which saw Jannik Sinner beat Alexander Zverev to claim his second title in as many years.
And the veteran couldn’t resist one final gag, as he said on BBC: ‘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.’
Castle was referring to fellow former tennis player John Lloyd, who is also finishing up with the broadcaster.
Andrew Castle joked that the BBC have ‘booted’ him from their Wimbledon coverage as his run as lead commentator came to an end
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Lloyd said: ‘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 added: ‘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. We’ll play golf next week, yes?’
Castle had spoken about the decision to move him on in the build-up to the final, with Andrew Cotter in line to replace him as Wimbledon’s lead commentator.
He told BBC 5 Live: ‘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.
‘To a degree, this was unexpected. The news was delivered to me in a respectful way. I had a meeting after taking a phone call that didn’t sound too good.
‘Phil Bernie came down from BBC Sport and said, “look, we’re going in a different direction for the final next year, we’d like you to stay a part of the team”.
‘I thought about that, talked to my wife Sophia and the children, let it sit. Then I declined to be a part of the team for next year, because once you’ve done the final, everything else is less. It’s such an event, such a thing.’
