Ex-Channel 4 racing presenter John McCririck has launched a £3m age discrimination claim against his former employers after he was ditched in favour of Clare Balding last year.
The wild haired 73 year-old was dropped, allegedlyfor being too old, prompting McCririck to mount his legal challenge to prevent others from being pensioned off.
Speaking to reporters outside a tribunal hearing McCririck said: “There are people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s who dread that a younger person will come in and take them out of a job; they are in fear of it.
“That is why I am claiming £3 million in total, so that no one will ever be sacked because they are trying to get a younger person. On merit and ability, fine, but not because they are younger.”
In response to the action Channel 4 claims that it never formally employed the presenter, who was recruited on a freelance basis, and denies that age was a factor in his dismissal.
In a separate allegation McCririck asserted that Channel 4 had accused him of ‘blackmail’ by stating that a £20,000 lump sum payment given to the star was done so on a bid to prevent him from speaking to the press about his treatment.
Channel 4 insists that the money was recompense for a reduction in the number of days he was required to work from 82 to 55.
McCririck was a staple fixture on Channel 4’s racing schedules for nearly 30 years before parting company last October.