John McCririck

At 79 years old, John McCririck physical status not available right now. We will update John McCririck's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

Michael McCririck, 17 April 1940 to 5 July 2019, was an English television horse racing pundit and journalist. McCririck began his work at The Sporting Life, where he twice received the British Press Awards for his campaigning journalism, but he was dismissed in 1984.

He began in 1981 as the horse racing coverage on ITV Sport changed from 1984 to Channel 4 Racing.

In October 2012, the channel announced that he would be cut from its staff, which McCririck attributed to ageism.

McCririck brought the lawsuit to an employment tribunal, but he was turned down. He appeared on British television in the 1980s, including as a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother, The Weakest Link, Wife Swap, and After Dark.

Early life

McCririck, a Surrey student, was educated at Elizabeth College, Guernsey, Victoria College, Jersey, and Harrow School, where his classmates included Julian Wilson, later a racing journalist. He went home with three O-Levels after also reading the book on cross country runs.

Personal life

In 1970, McCririck married Jennifer Barnes and referred to her as "The Booby." He had been accused of numerous misdeeds. Edwina Currie and her husband competed in the Wife Swap in 2006. McCririck was also a well-known supporter of Newcastle United F.C.

McCririck had influenza in early 2018 resulting in a chest infection. He went through a drastic weight loss due to his illness.

McCririck died on July 5th, 2019, after a brief bout with lung cancer; he was 79.

"He was bizarre, in both speech and appearance, because what he wanted most of all was a response, and so he enlivened many a broadcast or social occasion that may otherwise have fallen flat," racing reporter Chris Cook said in The Guardian on the day McCririck died. Although McCririck drew a devoted following, the buffoon act sold him short. He was a skilled reporter whose investigations revealed a few scandals in the 1970s. When it was time for a critical interview to be done, the producers of Channel 4 Racing almost always returned to McCririck." McCririck was featured in the BBC Radio 4 obituary programme Last Word on July 12, 2019.

Source

Career

After failing to get into the diplomatic service, McCririck was briefly a waiter at The Dorchester hotel. During the era when off-course betting was illegal in the UK, he worked for an illegal bookmaker, before becoming a bookmaker himself, at which he admitted to having failed. He then became a tic-tac man.

He began his career in journalism at The Sporting Life, where he twice won at the British Press Awards for his campaigning journalism; he was sacked in 1984. He joined the Daily Star, but was later sacked by the newspaper after allegations emerged that he was in debt to his bookmaker; he later successfully sued the paper at an employment tribunal.

Having previously become a results sub-editor on the BBC's Grandstand, from 1981 he joined ITV Sport's horse racing coverage; he had previously appeared in a debate about fox hunting on the ITV children's programme Saturday Banana in 1978. During 1984 and 1985, horse racing moved from ITV to Channel 4 as Channel 4 Racing, where his role was expanded and he reported from the betting ring. His signature flamboyant attire of a large deerstalker hat, sideburns, and brightly coloured matching suits and trousers, coupled with huge cigars, became a recognisable personal style.

In 1988, on the evening after the Grand National, he made an extended appearance on the After Dark topical discussion programme on Channel 4, alongside Barney Curley and the Duchess of Argyll, in an episode entitled "Horse Racing, Sport Of Kings?"

In October 2012 Channel 4 announced that McCririck would not be included in the team presenting racing from January 2013, which McCririck blamed on ageism, taking Channel 4 to an employment tribunal. On 13 November the tribunal ruled against McCririck saying, "All the evidence is that Mr McCririck's pantomime persona, as demonstrated on the celebrity television appearances, and his persona when appearing on Channel 4 Racing, together with his self-described bigoted and male chauvinist views were clearly unpalatable to a wider audience." The panel was told by witnesses from the television station and IMG (the production company) that he was dropped because he was "offensive" and "disgusting".

In December 2018 McCririck joined the editorial team at The Racing Paper as a weekly columnist.

Source