Sue Barker was the face of BBC Wimbledon for 30 years before her exit in 2022, but she’s now returned for a special reason.
The former main presenter for the sporting event walked back onto the court to surprise Andy Murray after he played a match at the iconic venue.
Andy, 37, is playing his final Wimbledon, and so they had to bring out all the stops as he bids farewell to the contest.
After Andy and his brother Jamie Murray were beaten by Australian pair John Peers and Rinky Hijikatain in their first-round men’s doubles match on Centre Court, Sue, 68, arrived to interview the sporting legend.
As Andy spotted Sue walking towards him, he joined in on the applause and smiled at her presence.
‘I couldn’t miss this,’ she enthusiastically told the crowd. The two embraced before they began to reminisce about Andy’s many Wimbledon matches.
During her three decades as a presenter, Sue has been there during Andy’s highs and lows including in 2013, when ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s Wimbledon champion before adding a second in 2016. As well as celebrating his successes, the pair reflected on his loss to Roger Federer the year before his first win.
‘It’s always really difficult to speak after a loss, particularly after a Grand Slam final and being at Wimbledon. That’s the closest I had been and it was obviously difficult. It was quite an important moment in my career,’ he shared.
A clearly emotional Andy was also shown a tribute video that featured Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic and Roger celebrating his achievements and was supported by his mum Judy Murray, his wife Kim and two of his children, who were all in the crowd.
‘I want to play forever, I love the sport. It’s given me so much, taught me loads of lessons over the years that I can use in the rest of my life. I don’t want to stop, so it’s hard,’ said Andy, who had surgery for a spinal cyst.
Andy also opened up to Sue about falling for Kim and admitted he ‘choked’ when they first met, and clumsily asked for an email address instead of a phone number. He called her the ‘best mum’ and joked that there were going to endure some tests in their relationship when they spend more time together after his final tennis matches.
Sue’s fondness for Andy was clear as she told him ‘I can’t stop them, Andy’ as the crowd cheered so loud that they paused their interview.
After the courtside chat concluded, Andy left to a standing ovation and commentator Clare Balding spoke about how nice it was to see Sue return for the milestone occasion.
‘How lovely that Sue could be persuaded out of retirement,’ she stated.
Viewers felt the same, and reacted to the interview on social media with many positive adjectives used to describe her return including ‘glorious’ and ‘lovely’.
Chris Goldsmith wrote on X: ‘Petition to get Sue Barker back on the BBC Wimbledon coverage! Bring Back Sue.’
‘Sue Barker is terrific, btw; what a lovely idea to bring her back for this special moment of sporting history,’ added David Tanner.
‘Didn’t have Sue Barker made me cry tonight on my bingo card,’ remarked Jill Mansell.
She wasn’t the only one, Giulia Bould said: ‘Anyone else burst into tears when the wonderful Sue Barker appeared.’
When Sue’s departure was announced in 2022 she said: ‘What a wonderful time I’ve had working on some of the biggest sporting events around the world.
‘I will miss it terribly but after 30 years I feel the time is right for me. I’ve worked with the best of the best.’
Barker also revealed the death of her mother aged 100 had played a role in her decision to quit to the Daily Mail: ‘My mum was always so interested in my broadcasting career and we would speak every evening.
‘When something like that happens it does make you reassess life, which is another reason I think this is the right time.’
Sue recently spoke further about her decision to step away from the central role.
‘I just sensed that, as you get older, you’ve got not many years left,’ she told The Telegraph.
‘And when you’re hearing that they’re having meetings about who’s to replace you…
‘Although they offered me a contract, I suddenly thought over those three years, will it be a case of, “We’ll just diminish Sue’s role a little so that the transition is slightly easier?” And I didn’t want to be diminished. I’d rather go out doing the top job.’
The contest is now fronted by Clare Balding, Qasa Alom and Isa Guha.
Sue, who was the first female to lead the BBC output at the tournament, had been at the BBC for thirty years with other gigs including the Olympics, Sports Personality of the Year and A Question of Sport.
Wimbledon coverage continues tomorrow on BBC One at 4:30pm
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