O’Reilly: Tribunal made me subject of resentment

Former Countryfile presenter Miriam O'Reilly has spoken about the "seething resentment" she was confronted with when she returned to the BBC following her age discrimination case.

Ms O'Reilly was offered a three-year contract with the corporation after she won the case at an employment tribunal, but left after only twelve months in the job. She told the Guardian that her return was "a damage-limitation exercise" by the BBC. She said:

"Of the people that I worked with, 99.9% of them treated me with tremendous respect and support and encouragement.

"But from certain individuals there was a seething resentment that I had won the case, executives who were really angry that I had challenged them and won resoundingly. They didn't like it that a woman had stood up to them. There was a huge amount of resentment there."

Ms O'Reilly took legal action against the BBC after she was dropped from Countryfile when the programme moved to a new prime-time slot. The BBC later apologised.

Miriam O'Reilly now works at a charity she set up to help women who are being discriminated against in the workplace.

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