Who is Martine Croxall? News presenter goes viral after correcting 'pregnant people' on bulletin to 'pregnant women'
A BBC News presenter has been hailed after correcting “pregnant people” to “women” live on air.
The 56-year-old presenter was reporting on research from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine that warned of nearly 600 expected heat-related deaths. Reading from the autocue, Croxall said: "Malcolm Mistry, who was involved in the research, said the aged, pregnant people - women - and those with pre-existing health conditions need to take precautions."
The correction was accompanied by what viewers described as an eye roll and smile. The Harry Potter author JK Rowling quickly praised the presenter on social media, declaring: "I have a new favourite BBC presenter."
Rowling shared a video clip from SEEN in Journalism, which had posted: "Good to see accuracy on BBC News." The incident drew widespread support across social media platforms.
One user on X said: “Give her a promotion and a massive raise!”. Another said: “Followed her now, what a legend. She’ll probably get fired now for daring to be factual.“
Croxall decided to address the incident on X on Sunday evening. Writing to her 66.3k followers, Croxall penned: "A huge thank you to everyone who has chosen to follow me today for whatever reason. It's been quite a ride..."
Croxall has been working with the BBC for over 30 years, beginning at the corporation in 1991. A decade later, in 2001, she joined the BBC News team and has fronted a wide range of programming such as World News Today, BBC Weekend News, Dateline London, and BBC News at One.
She was taken off air for 11 days back in 2022 after admitting to being "gleeful" that Boris Johnson had withdrawn from the Conservative leadership race. Her remarks were deemed to have breached the BBC's impartiality rules.