BBC Breakfast host Naga Munchetty spoke to Gabby Logan on the latest episode of the Mid-Point podcast and the pair discussed their experiences as presenters on TV
TV presenter Naga Munchetty has hit back at the way she’s treated by BBC Breakfast viewers compared to her co-host Charlie Stayt. She’s also addressed people “reading into” her choices of outfits.
Naga, 50 – who has anchored the BBC show since 2014 – has opened up about being criticised over her appearance on social media. The host, who has assured that she is “very happy” with her body, suggested that her colleague Charlie, 62, doesn’t receive the same response from viewers.
The BBC Radio 5 Live host spoke about her experience whilst a guest on this week’s episode of the podcast the Mid-Point. The comments came after podcast host Gabby Logan, 52, asked whether it shows “progress” in the industry that they are both still working on TV in the fifties.
Naga said: “I don’t feel I have to go anywhere soon because of my age.” She went on to share: “[But] I feel on television women are still judged on the way they look.” After Gabby asked if she meant “more than men,” she said: “Absolutely.”
Loose Women’s Nadia Sawalha, 60, was then brought up, with Naga recalling that she attracted attention for wearing the same blouse for numerous episodes of the ITV show in 2017. Nadia later revealed that it had been an “experiment” after Robert Rinder, 46, said that he had worn the same suit in interviews without anyone noticing.
Sharing her thoughts, Naga suggested that viewers wouldn’t notice if her co-stars Charlie and Jon Kay, 55, did the same. She said that “no one would notice” if her two colleagues “wore the same suit” for several days on BBC Breakfast.
Then speaking about her own experience, Naga said: “The number of times I’ve had comments. ‘Oh you shouldn’t be wearing that dress, you’ve got a bit of a belly’. People are quite happy to email or comment on social media.”
She continued: “I’m very happy with my body. Y’know I’m fit, I’m strong, but women have bellies.” Asked if her co-host gets comments about his body, she responded: “I don’t think Charlie’s ever had a comment about his belly.”
Naga later told host Gabby: “You get a lot of nice comments [too] but I think … so to go back to age, women are expected to portray a certain aesthetic.” She added: “When you dress for news, you have to be mindful that what you wear cannot be distracting because the story is important.”
Football pundit Gabby said that it’s “the same with sport,” adding that she “always” wants to look “smart”. She said that whilst she enjoys clothes, she doesn’t want her outfits to be “anything more” than a “passing thought” for viewers. Naga added: “Women are more highly criticised and noticed.”
During the discussion, Naga also addressed viewers “reading into” her choice of coat colour for outside broadcasts in her career. She said that broadcasters need a “variety” of coats, scarves and thermals for when they work outdoors.
She added: “The number of times people have read into the colour of my coat and what I’m talking about [though].” Naga said she has been accused of “being political” with her choice of chat, before telling Gabby that “it is nonsense”.
Gabby admitted that when she’s commentating at a football match, she tries to avoid wearing suits in the same colour as either of the teams playing. Naga added that if she knows that she is interviewing a politician on BBC Breakfast she won’t wear the “colours of their party” that same day.
Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.
READ MORE: Boden launches 25% off everything sale for a limited time