The BBC has ruled that presenter Martine Croxall fell short of the broadcaster’s impartiality rules when she altered a script live on air regarding pregnant people.

The incident took place in June while Croxall was presenting on the BBC News Channel. In a clip that went viral at the time, Croxall introduced a news item on research about those most at risk during a heatwave.

While the teleprompter used the phrase “pregnant people,” which Croxall did read out, she then altered it to say “women” while raising her eyebrows in an apparently exasperated fashion.

@pinknews The BBC have issued a statement after presenter Martine Croxall changed 'pregnant people' to 'women' live on air, sparking a wave of complaints. In a statement sent to complainants on Tuesday 1 July, the BBC said: "During a sequence about heatwaves, Martine Croxall was reading a script that directly quoted a report from The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. As the language wasn't clearly attributed, she used her editorial judgement to make a live ajustment. We're happy that this was duly accurate and impartial in line with the BBC's Editorial guidelines". #bbcnews #martinecroxall #pregnantpeople #transrights#uknews #lgbtqia ♬ Minimal for news / news suspense(1169746) – Hiraoka Kotaro

“Pregnant people” is a gender-inclusive term that reflects the fact some non-binary people and trans men can also get pregnant.

The moment garnered responses from both trans allies and members of the gender-critical movement. Notably, Croxall was celebrated by Harry Potter author JK Rowling – well known for her outspoken views on trans issues – who wrote on X/Twitter: “I have a new favourite BBC presenter.”

Initially the BBC dismissed complaints regarding the incident saying it was “happy” Croxall’s actions were “duly accurate and impartial in line with the BBC’s Editorial guidelines.” The broadcaster repeated this in a statement to PinkNews at the time.

I have a new favourite BBC presenter. https://t.co/l2gkThccty

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 22, 2025

Today (Thursday 6 November) the BBC reported that 20 impartiality complaints have been upheld and that Croxall had fallen short of impartiality rules by seeming to express an opinion.

The broadcaster’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) decided that Croxall’s altering of the script and her subsequent facial expression amounted to an expression of a “controversial view about trans people”.

The ECU said Croxall had “indicated a particular viewpoint in the controversies currently surrounding trans ideology,” and that her expression was “variously interpreted by complainants as showing disgust, ridicule, contempt or exasperation.”

It said that “congratulatory messages Ms Croxall later received on social media, together with the critical views expressed in the complaints to the BBC and elsewhere, tended to confirm that the impression of her having expressed a personal view was widely shared across the spectrum of opinion on the issue.”

As reported by the BBC, the ECU also said that “Ms Croxall was reacting to scripting, which somewhat clumsily incorporated phrases from the press release accompanying the research, including ‘the aged’, which is not the BBC style, and ‘pregnant people’, which did not match what Dr Mistry said in the clip which followed”.

The broadcaster also reports the issue has been discussed with the BBC’s editorial team and Croxall specifically. Croxall was also ruled to have breached impartiality rules over comments she made about Boris Johnson in 2022.

On its own website, the broadcaster states impartiality is “key to a relationship of trust with audiences” and it means “[audiences] know the BBC is not being influenced by any personal or other agenda in what it chooses to broadcast or publish or in how it covers stories and that it seeks to include a wide range of views on any given topic”. 

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