Sue Barker takes her Porsche for a spin in the Cotswolds while Clare Balding works out in Pilates as she prepares to take over as the BBC’s main presenter of Wimbledon.
After stepping down as the voice of Wimbledon, it seems Sue Barker has found a new way to spend her summers.
The presenter, who has presented the BBC’s coverage of the tournament for 30 years, took a top-of-the-range Porsche 911 Turbo S for a spin in the Cotswolds on Saturday 24 June.
Ms Barker, 67, was photographed getting into the vehicle, which costs more than £180,000 and has a top speed of 205mph, before donning a pair of sunglasses and setting off.
Ms Barker was paid a six-figure salary of up to £189,999, according to the BBC’s top earner list for last year.
He stopped presenting Wimbledon coverage last summer after 30 years and received an emotional send-off from tennis stars Tim Henman, Andy Murray and Roger Federer.
Sue Barker (pictured), who has presented the BBC’s coverage of the tournament for 30 years, took a top-of-the-range Porsche 911 Turbo S for a spin in the Cotswolds on Saturday 24 June.
The vehicle (pictured) costs over £180,000 and has a top speed of 205mph
And while Mrs Barker was running around the field, her replacement, Clare Balding, was getting ready before the championship.
Ms Balding, 52, who is now the BBC’s main presenter of Wimbledon, was seen leaving a Pilates session at her local gym in west London dressed in black leggings and a blue T-shirt.
In recent years, the sports journalist has kept fit with a mix of exercise classes, local walks and runs, which she picked up during lockdown.
Ms Barker’s decision to step down came two years after the BBC revealed that she would not be renewing her contract for A Question of Sport.
The former French Open champion led the series alongside team captains Phil Tuffnell and Matt Dawson, who were also shown the door.
Mrs Barker’s replacement, Clare Balding (pictured), was seen getting ready before the championship
John McEnroe talks to Sue Barker during Wimbledon’s No. 1 Court Celebration on May 19, 2019
Earlier this month, Ms Barker recalled the day she was sent packing after 24 years, likening her treatment to receiving a detention at school.
She told Hay Festival: ‘So, I got up to leave and [management] he says ‘no, you can go out that door I don’t want you to see the boys’. I was like ‘are you serious?’ She felt like a school detention. I can’t go out the front door. I’m going out the back door.
‘Come out boys. Matt was really, really worried. Tuffers, in true Tuffers fashion, thought he was going to get a raise, so he walked in extremely happy, and then the next minute he was crying his eyes out. He is very emotional. The trio had been called to separate meetings with management where they took the beatings.
They asked the BBC to get a statement from them by the time the news broke, but heard nothing for weeks before the broadcaster contacted them asking them to sign a statement saying they had decided to resign. .
She had previously told the Mail that the layoff had left her “slightly damaged” and “terribly sad”.
Paddy McGuinness replaced Ms Barker on the long-running quiz show alongside Sam Quek and Ugo Monye.
