BBC backs Martine Croxall after she corrected ‘pregnant people' script
The BBC has backed Martine Croxall after she replaced the term 'pregnant people' with 'women' in a news report.
Insiders said the mood at the broadcaster has shifted in recent months and Croxall's on-air correction signals a move towards the use of more 'honest language'.
The change has come from the top with support from Samir Shah, the BBC chairman, according to sources.
The UK Supreme Court ruling in April is also said to have encouraged staff to speak up for women. Judges ruled that the term 'woman' in the 2010 Equality Act referred to biological sex, not acquired gender.
Croxall won a new legion of fans, including JK Rowling, when she overruled the autocue during a BBC News report.
In a story about heatwave-related deaths, the script said that 'pregnant people and those with pre-existing health conditions need to take precautions'.
Croxall read the phrase 'pregnant people' then corrected it to 'women', accompanied by a subtle eye roll.
A clip of the moment went viral on social media and was reposted on X by Rowling, who wrote: 'I have a new favourite BBC presenter.'
Croxall is understood to have received no pushback from bosses about the language that she used.
A BBC source said: 'This is very good news. Bosses are intensely relaxed, it seems – perhaps even pleased with what she did. It's down to the new chairman, in my opinion.'
Another said that the Supreme Court ruling had brought 'clarity'.
That is a marked change from February last year when Justin Webb was deemed to have broken impartiality rules by mentioning biological sex.
During a report on Radio 4's Today programme about gender guidelines in international chess, Webb read out a reference to a transgender woman and added: 'In other words, male.'
A listener complained and the BBC's editorial complaints unit agreed, saying Webb had given the impression 'of endorsing one viewpoint in a highly controversial area'.
Tim Davie defended that ruling, telling MPs: 'It is an area of controversy – fact.'
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