Carol Vorderman has gone to war with Laura Kuenssberg and demanded the BBC politics presenter is replaced by Victoria Derbyshire after she sparked fury with her ‘opinionated’ and ‘rude’ interview with Ed Davey.
Kuenssberg is facing a backlash and has been accused of ‘bias’ after her grilling of the Lib Dem leader over the weekend, with people on social media branding her introduction of the MP as ‘disgraceful’.
And now Countdown star Vorderman has waded into the row and hinted that Kuenssberg should be swapped out with Newsnight host Derbyshire, 55 – as she branded the 47-year-old’s introduction of Sir Ed ‘quite extraordinary’.
Opening her interview, Kuenssberg said: ‘This election made history for all sorts of reasons, and when you put the votes together, the smaller parties got their highest ever share of the votes.
‘Maybe it was the bungee jumping, or maybe given that the Liberal Democrats want to change the voting system, ironically perhaps they just learned how to play it better by ruthlessly targeting seats where the Conservatives had held them.’
As a video showing Mr Davey celebrating his election success, Kuenssberg continued: ‘Well there he is, Ed Davey, the happiest man in Britain, he looked like there, celebrating winning more than 70 seats, and he joins us this morning from south west London.
‘Ed Davey, congratulations, I suppose, on your more than 70 seats.’
However, it was the veteran political journalist’s use of the phrase ‘I suppose’ in the introduction which sparked outrage online – with many demanding the BBC sacked Kuenssberg.
Joining the backlash, former Countdown star Vorderman, 63, appeared to call on the BBC to drop Kuenssberg from her political show and replace her with veteran presenter, Victoria Derbyshire.
‘Time for #bbclaurak to become #bbcVictoriaD don’t you think? @vicderbyshire Quite extraordinary,’ she wrote on X, adding: ‘Vic D is exceptional and gives them all a hard time if that is what’s needed. She knows her detail and cuts through with any bias. BBC is lucky to have her.’
Others on social media lashed out at how Kuenssberg delivered her introduction of the Lib Dem leader.
‘Is it just me or is it time that Laura Kuenssberg was dropped? She’s far too opinionated and often downright rude,’ wrote one user, while another said: ‘When she said, ‘Congratulations, I suppose’ I physically jumped. The BBC needs to look closely at her performance. She is not employed to put her own opinion forward.’
Another added: ‘Laura Kuenssberg is often criticised, often unfairly, for her perceived partisanship. But, then this – coming out with such ungracious & begrudging acknowledgement of Ed Davey’s election success.’
While a fourth wrote: ‘Absolutely disgraceful from #LauraKuenssberg … she’s practically snarling as she says ‘Ed Davey, congratulations -I suppose’ … get rid of her @BBCPolitics.’
‘Laura Kuenssberg thinks belittling someone who brought a smile to our faces during this election makes her clever! It doesn’t,’ tweeted another viewer.
‘She is ignorant and is totally lacking integrity. Her attitude says far more about her than it does about Ed Davey who has faced and overcome far more.’
‘Laura Kuenssberg’s diabolic introduction to her interview with Ed Davey. No spoilers. Wait until the end. It’s worth it,’ wrote author @edwinhayward alongside a clip of the exchange.
In the video, Sir Ed appeared unfazed by the remarks during his interview with Kuenssberg
When approached by the about the backlash against Kuenssberg, the BBC declined to comment.
has approached Kuenssberg for comment.
Arch-cheerleader Vorderman was among the smug Left-wing luvvies to gloat about the Tories’ crushing election defeat last week.
Arch-cheerleader Carol Vorderman led celebrations on social media alongside a slew of celebrities who all wanted their moment in the limelight after Labour’s landslide.
She has become well-known for her anti-Tory tirades on social media – having previously clashed with former veterans Minister Johnny Mercer.
And former Countdown human calculator Vorderman exploded into a vicious tirade against the Tories on Channel 4 before shuffling to social media to show off her glee.
Following the results of the bombshell exit poll, Vorderman bellowed ‘I think we should get the party started’, as she appeared on Channel 4’s TV election coverage.
She told Channel 4: ‘Everybody out there is thinking: no more of the lies, the deceit, the corruption.’
Posting on X on Friday morning, she added: ‘Johnny Mercer gone. Jacob Rees Mogg gone. Gillian Keegan gone. Tories we don’t have to endure anymore. Here’s to a new chapter. You are all AMAZING.’
Vorderman also posted a mocking video captioned: ‘POV [point of view]: The Labour Party have just won a landslide in the election.’
Bursting out of a door marked Dressing Room, Vorderman mouthed to a voiceover: ‘Oh my God, ok it’s happening. Everyone stay calm.’
Bumping into two women carrying bundles of paper she was met by Guardian columnist Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, who continued: ‘Everyone stay calm. Stay [bleep] calm!’
But Vorderman’s outbursts against the Tories have previously led to her being binned by the BBC over her posts on social media.
She was even embroiled in a vitriolic row with former Tory veterans minister Johnny Mercer, who lost his seat in Plymouth in last week’s election.
So savage was the long-running social media war, Mr Mercer once extraordinarily took a swipe at her ‘shi** lonely life’.
The Tory MP hit back after Vorderman – who was dropped by the BBC over her anti-government rants – accused him of breaking a promise to end homelessness among ex-forces personnel.
The former Countdown maths whizz said Mr Mercer had vowed to eradicate the problem this year, but in fact numbers had risen by 14 per cent.
However, he argued that his pledge had been to stop ‘veterans sleeping rough due to a lack of provision’ – which he had achieved.
Mr Mercer complained that Vorderman and the Labour candidate in his Plymouth seat, Fred Thomas, were ‘deliberately misleading people’ to ‘make your sh** lonely life better’.
‘No one normal really cares about your view. They think you’re mad. I’m changing veterans’ lives. What I came into politics to do,’ he posted on the X site.
Vorderman hit back by branding Mr Mercer ‘childish’ and saying he was ‘slinging abuse’.
She also complained that he had ‘insulted’ Mr Thomas by sniping that he only served ‘five minutes’ in the forces, when actually he had been in the Royal Marines for seven years.
Mr Mercer – a former army captain – and his wife Felicity have had a long-running spat with Vorderman.
The famed numbers guru was told to leave her show on BBC Radio Wales for breaching the broadcasters new social media guidance.
She had been at the station for five years but said she was ‘not prepared to stop’ venting her ‘strong beliefs’ on Twitter and Instagram.
The presenter added: ‘Consequently I have now breached the new guidelines and BBC Wales management have decided I must leave. We each must make our decisions.’
Ms Vorderman had been accused of ‘flagrantly breaching’ the BBC’s impartiality rules with her anti-Tory outbursts, which have included calling ministers ‘a lying bunch of greedy, corrupt, destructive, hateful, divisive, gaslighting crooks’.
The BBC brought in new social media rules for its presenters following outrage earlier this year over Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker’s tweet which comparing the Government’s Rwanda policy to Nazi Germany.
These prevent high-profile stars from attacking political parties and individual politicians as well as weighing into controversial issues before elections or referendums. The rules apply when their show is on air and in a two-week window before and after.
Ms Vorderman said in a statement at the time: ‘The BBC recently introduced new social media guidelines, which I respect.
‘However, despite my show being light-hearted with no political content, it was explained to me that, as it is a weekly show in my name, the new guidelines would apply to all and any content that I post all year round.
‘Since those non-negotiable changes to my radio contract were made, I’ve ultimately found that I’m not prepared to lose my voice on social media, change who I am, or lose the ability to express the strong beliefs I hold about the political turmoil this country finds itself in.
‘My decision has been to continue to criticise the current UK Government for what it has done to the country which I love – and I’m not prepared to stop.
‘I was brought up to fight for what I believe in, and I will carry on.
‘Consequently I have now breached the new guidelines and BBC Wales management have decided I must leave. We each must make our decisions.
‘I’m sad to have to leave the wonderful friends I’ve made at Radio Wales.
‘I wish them, and all of our listeners, all the love in the world. We laughed a lot, and we will miss each other dearly.
‘But, for now, another interesting chapter begins.’
Her sacking followed a bizarre feud with former Tory veterans minister Johnny Mercer’s wife Felicity – who celebrated the Vorderman losing her BBC radio job.
The long-running feud between the two unlikely foes started last year when Vorderman accused Mrs Cornelius-Mercer of ‘harassment’ and shared a reel showing a series of tweets she had sent her.
Mrs Cornelius-Mercer also accused Ms Vorderman of being a ‘celebrity attack dog’ who was ‘inciting people to hate all Tories’.
The row even made it into the House of Commons when a Conservative MP accused Ms Vorderman of being a ‘snob’ after she criticised the Mercers for not going to university.
Ms Vorderman declared: ‘I’ve been harassed by Johnny Mercer’s wife for months. This is from just one day in April + much more abuse elsewhere. I didn’t respond at all. Until he mocked military using foodbanks. She’s paid c£45k on MP expenses (+200% pay rise) to do this?’
In response, Mrs Cornelius-Mercer said she had been tagging her in abusive tweets sent to her husband to show how she had stirred up ‘awful traffic’ by ‘telling followers to target MPs’.
She added: ‘Feel free to stop the reel and read them. These hateful comments are sent to us as a direct result of @carolvorders drivel. I’ve only ever reacted to her rubbish about hating all Tories, which has been going on long before I got involved.’
Speaking to LBC, Ms Vorderman said Mrs Cornelius-Mercer sent her ’60 tweets’ over one day.
‘Jonny Mercer’s wife has been harassing me for months on Twitter, on one day she sent over 60 tweets, the words she used about my private life were really misogynistic actually,’ she said.
‘To the point where I almost felt like reporting her to be honest, I found it quite upsetting.’