Latest news with #Barker
Daily Mirror
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
‘I'm a Wimbledon and BBC icon – I was told off after nearly burning down studio'
Wimbledon returns to action on Monday, but the Grand Slam was almost hit by disaster after one tennis legend started a fire in the BBC studio during a broadcast Wimbledon icon Sue Barker once had a close call that could have led to a fiery disaster at the BBC media centre. The former French Open winner, who became a staple of Wimbledon coverage for nearly three decades, almost caused a scary scene at the All England Club. In her 2024 book Wimbledon: A Personal History (via the Daily Express), Barker shared her experiences from her junior days at SW19 to retiring from commentary more than 50 years later, including the story of how she nearly 'burnt down' the BBC studio. As the 2025 Wimbledon Championships get underway on Monday, her former colleagues will be keen to avoid any repeats of that incident. Barker, 69, lauded tennis great Martina Navratilova for her contribution while recounting the near-catastrophic event. And she revealed she even had to play it cool mid-broadcast while part of the studio caught fire nearby. "I was always grateful that she, like Chrissie [Evert] and Tracy [Austin], would pop into the BBC studio as my guest," she wrote. "There's nothing she doesn't know about Wimbledon. She was my unfortunate guest one year when I nearly burned down the studio and possibly the whole media centre." Barker described how, during a particularly rainy day at Wimbledon, Navratilova joined her in the studio to assist with filling the airtime. However, things quickly went from bad to worse. The retired presenter went on to discuss her habit of keeping detailed research notes close at hand for reference. However, due to the management's preference for a neat desk, she tucked the pages out of sight underneath, which nearly resulted in catastrophe. "As Martina and I were chatting away I suddenly saw my floor manager Liz looking worried and talking in an animated fashion to the gallery," she continued. "The next minute I heard Martin Hopkins, the producer, say, 'There's a smell of smoke in the studio'. Everyone was looking concerned. "Martin told me to link to a VT, but the only one available was one that Martina and I had to talk over - but at least it would give Liz and the team a chance to do a sweep of the studio. Just as Martina and I started talking over the footage, I was aware of an intense burst of heat around my legs. "Flames started flickering up from under my desk. Stupidly, I had put my spare notes on top of the 'hot' lights instead of on the shelf next to them. "There was chaos as we fanned the flames and threw the remaining notes on the floor. I still carried on commentating over the footage, slightly breathlessly, as Martina and I wrestled the flames. Liz joined in, stamping on them. One of the crew rushed in with a fire extinguisher (which wasn't needed thankfully). "I'm pleased to say the flames were put out, but the smell of smoke lingered for some time. No one at home would have known of the drama, but we had a good laugh when finally we handed back to live coverage of Centre Court. "My laughter soon departed when the health and safety team told me in no uncertain terms how dangerous my inadvertent action had been. And I had no excuse as I was always given a safety briefing prior to The Championships and these lights were the number one priority. Needless to say my whole studio crew were relieved when LED lighting came in." Barker announced her decision to step down as host of the BBC's Wimbledon coverage in 2022 after that year's tournament. She was succeeded by Clare Balding, who has partnered with former cricketer Isa Guha to present the action from SW19 in recent years.
Daily Mirror
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
John McEnroe's home that was nearly too pricey for him blew Sue Barker away
John McEnroe and Sue Barker are great friends, with the three-time Wimbledon champion showing the TV presenter around his plush New York apartment and art gallery Sue Barker was left wowed by John McEnroe's luxurious New York residence, a property he struggled to afford during his tennis days. The duo, who are close pals after years working in tandem on the BBC's Wimbledon coverage before Barker retired from tournament presenting duties in 2022, shared some memorable moments. In 2019, Barker visited McEnroe in his homeland for a BBC documentary celebrating his 60th birthday. She toured his prestigious tennis academy, art gallery and the plush Manhattan apartment where he has lived since the mid-80s. Despite McEnroe's estimated net worth of £90 million, stretching his finances for the apartment initially proved a challenge. Recounting the visit in her book, Wimbledon: The players, the place, the magic, Barker said the property boasted "the most stunning views over the city". She said: "Mac stretched himself to buy the property during his early playing days and it is now a prime asset, proving what a savvy businessman he was even back then." Today, the apartment, with its four bedrooms, an office, a gallery and a spacious kitchen, is valued at about £7.5million. Barker was also awestruck by McEnroe's downtown Manhattan gallery. She wrote: "Art is another of his great passions. We had a hilarious moment when I held the bottom of the ladder as John climbed up to remove a couple of paintings from the wall. "The ladder was a bit wobbly, and I felt under extreme pressure. I carefully put the first painting he handed down on the table. The second one, I held in my hands, admiring it as John descended. How much do you think that one is worth, Sue?' "Not wanting to look foolish as I really had no idea, I guessed $100,000. 'Just over a million,' he said - and I almost dropped it! "Holding something so valuable was a first for me. I couldn't believe Mac would trust me with handling it at all. I decided not to go near anything else in his gallery, much to his amusement." McEnroe, who grew up in Queens near US Open venue Flushing Meadows, feels at home in Manhattan. In the documentary, he said: "I've lived in the same apartment for 35 years. I love being in Manhattan, I grew up in Queens, close to the US Open. But most kids, if not all kids, dream of making it in Manhattan." McEnroe, one of the BBC's top-paid presenters on a pro rata basis, will return to his punditry and commentary roles at Wimbledon this year. However, Nick Kyrgios will reportedly not be joining him after being dropped from the line-up.
eNCA
7 days ago
- Science
- eNCA
SA's iconic protea flower relocates as climate warms
CULLINAN - On his farm two hours north of Johannesburg, Nico Thuynsma gestured towards thousands of orange, yellow and pink proteas in flower and thriving 1,500 kilometres from their natural home at the southern tip of Africa. "They're all different," the 55-year-old farmer said of the assorted blooms from the diverse Proteaceae family that has more than 350 species in South Africa, from firework-like "pincushion" varieties to delicate "blushing brides". He picked out a majestic pink and white crown, nearly the size of his head, that has taken four years to reach its impressive size. "The King Proteas are very slow to grow," Thuynsma said. The largest of the proteas, the King Protea, is South Africa's national flower. It has lent its name to the national cricket team and countless brands. It features on the currency and is the logo for South Africa's presidency this year of the G20 group of leading economies, which convenes a summit in November. It is also the country's largest flower export with more than 10 million stems sent abroad last year, worth close to R275-million, according to the Cape Flora industry organisation. Its status offers the King Protea some protection but almost half of South Africa's other protea species face extinction because of pressures on their native habitats in the mountains of the Cape, according to South Africa's National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). These include habitat loss to agriculture, the proliferation of invasive alien species and "changes to natural fire cycles", SANBI said in a 2021 report. - Icon - "People come to South Africa to see proteas," Nigel Barker, a professor in plant sciences at the University of Pretoria, told AFP. "It's the plant equivalent of the elephant or the lion." Most proteas are endemic or semi-endemic to the Cape Floral Kingdom biome of "fynbos" ("fine bush") that stretches across the southern tip of South Africa and is one of the world's richest flora biodiversity hotspots. But climate projections predict "hotter, drier conditions", Barker said. "We'll be looking at a completely different vegetation type in the future, semi-desert almost in some places." "Many species, because they're so range-restricted, will probably go extinct under those scenarios," he said. "The only solution we have is to cultivate them artificially... in greenhouses or farms where you control irrigation," Barker said. An example is Thuynsma's farm in the grasslands of the north, where he began planting proteas three decades ago. Here, winters are dry and frosty, and the summers rainy -- conditions very different to those in the far south where the proteas are at home. - Gel for irrigation - Through trial and error, Thuynsma has been able to cultivate close to 200 protea varieties, including some long forgotten and abandoned by farmers in their original habitats. In his latest experiment, he has planted 36 varieties with just two litres (four pints) of saturated gel for irrigation. "I hope to unlock the power of some of these varieties," Thuynsma said. "They come from the Western Cape out of very harsh conditions, so they do have it in them." "I learn from them, I learn with them. And, hopefully, in the future I can advise my nursery public -- and even estates -- how to plant this lovely fynbos without irrigation," he said. "I don't think I have a solution for climate change," he joked, crouched over a small seedling in freshly turned soil. "But I do have a solution: to plant proteas." A few metres (yards) away, in a warm nursery, thousands of protea sprouts awaited their turn in the soil. "I love them, I protect them, I collect them," Thuynsma said. "The protea is part of South Africa's DNA."
Scottish Sun
20-06-2025
- Scottish Sun
Inside UK's most notorious jail where Baby P's evil killer is terrified of attack & rapists & murderers play hide & seek
SADISTIC Baby P killer Steven Barker spent his time in notorious Belmarsh prison 'watching children's daytime TV', a new book claims. Loathed more than any other inmate in a nick where terrorists and mass murderers do time, evil Barker was confined to his cell due to being 'at extreme risk of harm', according to a former lag. 13 A book reveals some secrets on some of high-security Belmarsh prison's most notorious con Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd 13 Baby P killer Steven Barker spent his time at infamous Belmarsh prison 'watching children's daytime TV' but was still targeted by other prisoners, a book claims Credit: PA 13 Barker was convicted...
San Francisco Chronicle
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Caitlin Clark ‘brought us back to the WNBA' say fans packing Chase Center to see Valkyries
From Stockton to Oregon, fans flocked from across the West Coast to come to San Francisco and watch Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever play the Golden State Valkyries in Chase Center for the very first time. And making no apologies, many in attendance, while harboring enormous pride in the Bay Area's expansion team, came for Clark. Mary Barker, who was a fan of the Sacramento Monarchs before that WNBA team ceased operations in 2009, was thrilled to cheer on the expansion team. Barker was dressed to the nines in Valkyries gear, beaming about the team to a group of tourists outside of Chase Center before the game. 'I'm definitely going for the Valkyries to win, but I love Caitlin Clark too,' Barker said. 'But of course, you want it to be good, wholesome basketball, no drama. Just everybody go out and compete and (have) good sportsmanship. But I'll be going Valkyries all the way.' That sort of talk was music to head coach Natalie Nakase, who said before her team's 88-77 win over Indiana, 'Our fans are kind of like our superpower in way. They really know when to scream, when to holler, and as soon as that ball gets thrown up, they jump from the start. And they're always cheering until the very end. So I'm going to call them our superpower.' One married Sacramento couple who, like Barker, are Monarchs-turned-Valkyries fans, were thrilled to be at Chase to support Clark. Both women watched Clark play basketball at Iowa and were proudly wearing Fever jerseys with Clark's No. 22. 'We have season tickets (for the Valkyries), but we're representing Clark because she's the one that brought us back to the WNBA, to be quite honest,' one of the women said. 'But we're obviously Valkyries fans as well. So excited to be here.' Fans were not shy to compare Clark to NBA legends Michael Jordan and Stephen Curry, who often draws a lot of physical defense on the court. Many fans at Chase Center, here for Clark or not, had mixed reactions on the subject of what she faces on the court. 'I don't know how the WNBA lets it go on, how (players are) bullying her. She's done nothing but good for the league. They're all flying charter (planes) this year because of her,' said John Kosich of Stockton. Kosich attended the game after his kids bought him a Clark jersey and a pair of tickets to the game for Father's Day. 'The league was worth $90 million last year, now it's $360 (million). I mean, come on, you got to protect her. That's the golden goose.' But what some fans say is bullying, others are adamant that the physicality is intrinsic to competitive basketball, rather than detracting from it. 'Is she getting targeted? Who knows,' said Bridget C., a Clark fan who came to Chase Center to watch her first-ever WNBA game. 'But you deal with that as you go right, like, it's part of learning how to play in the pros.' Questions surrounding Clark's treatment by opposing players, including the controversy over the audio-less clip captured by ESPN of Atlanta Dream center Brittney Griner, came up repeatedly in conversations at Chase Center. Some fans speculated Griner called Clark 'F—ing white girl,' while others said they believed that conclusion was a ploy for headlines. Griner herself says that she was making a comment about the referee's call, and didn't say anything about Clark at all. 'I don't know if it's a race thing, but Griner, well, she's lucky she's not in Russia. Let's just say that,' said Kosich. 'I mean, we all could read her lips … but it's like, why don't you just appreciate what she brought to the league and let it go?' Barker had a less strong opinion on the matter, chalking it up to the legions of fans Clark brings to the league. 'I really don't see it as a race thing, I try not to look at it that way. But I think what it is, is you got a player that came in and made such a huge impact on the game,' Barker said. Mostly, Barker said she was excited about the entertainment Clark brings to the court, and to be at a packed Chase Center for the game. While many at Chase Center were thrilled to watch Clark in action, one Clark fan named Kyle S. said in jest that he was in attendance to 'make sure (Clark) wasn't AI.' And at least one pair of proud parents wasn't in attendance for Clark at all. Lewis and Merteen Thornton, parents of Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton said about the team playing Indiana, '(It means) nothing, nothing at all. It means that we're going to support the Valks … playing (Clark) doesn't mean (anything) to us, because she's just another player.'
