Not disagreeing with the overall point but that was actually "fe-mail" which was in reference to and punning on her being originally brought in to deal with incoming emails on the morning line and the exchange betting on the computer which he was clueless about, rather than necessarily being a sexist thing. that said, you never know with him. Personally I liked Mac but his time is definetly up.

According to someone on a racing forum Cattermole and Balding fell out after Cattermole was wanted by the BBC and Balding was used to lure him and when he decided to stay at Channel 4 they fell out. So this maybe why Mike isn't staying.

I think most racing fans will disagree with you here. Simon Holt, for me, is not only the best racing commentator but is the best commentator on sport on UK telly. He is a great wordsmith and can spot a winner from 5 furlongs out. Hoiles is good but Holt is the master

Absolutely nothing to do with it. If you only worked with people you really liked then you wouldn't work much

Have C4 totally lost their senses?

They get rid of the likes of Derek Thompson, greatest jockey John Francome and Mike Cattermole in favour of Luck, Fitzgerald and Persaud.

Thompson v Luck ... the only thing Luck has in his favour is he is younger, Thomo has a history of covering all things equine, from Horse of the year to both jump and flat racing. Shall miss Thomo and the way he calls everything and everybody 'big fella'.

Francome v Fitzgerald .... no contest, the greatest jockey and charismatic Francome has everything that Fitzgerald has never, and will never, possess. All I remember from Mick is that crass comment when he won the Grand National which grates on me every time I hear it, and that biddy nasal voice of his. The lovely burrr on Francome's voice and he sure could get away with the Fitzgerald comment and it wouldn't sound sleazy!! Apart form that surely John has far better understanding and credibility.

Cattermole v Persaud ..... the suave Cattermole who does actually know something about racing versus Persaud whose main interest seems to be which horse he has put his money on, and it is usually a losing horse!! His frailties have been all too clear with his lack of knowledge on the Beeb and words fail me when I see his name being associated with any sport.

As for 'flavour of the moment' Balding, although she is very knowledgeable on the subject, there will be more of her stonking round the paddock with the camera following her backside rather than that of the horses! She flourished in the double act with Willie Carson on the BBC, doubtless she will do a good job on C4 and probably is a good move, however I am wondering when the bubble will burst.

Old McCririck is looking very dodery now and am not surprised he is out.

Glad Big Al is trotting off, he always looked like he had just rolled out of bed!

Ohhhhh and I didn't know Emma was separated from Jamie Spencer. However Jamie is such a miserable so and so perhaps I am not so surprised!!

Mainly gutted about Francome though, he was the highlight of C4 racing for me. He is still the Greatest jump racing jockey, and when you see him in his breeches riding out horses with his own style and class, surely anyone can see that the man still has 'it'.

We are talking tv people with egos not people who have to have a job to live if Clare Balding is what they want and Mike doesn't think he could work with her or him her then that would be it, Channel 4 would not want an embarrassing situation a few weeks into it that the Daily Mail would thrive on, think Eamonn Holmes/Anthea Turner for an example of people who can't work together.

Channel 4 racing is on today, But its not the same as whets to come in 2013

As has already been pointed out Francome made it clear from early on that he wouldn't be a part of the new team as he wanted to concentrate on his other racing ventures.

Agree with you with regards to Cattermole, I imagine it may work in his favour though as I would have thought he would now get the chance to do more on course commentary of the big weekend race meetings

I always thought the "fe-mail" thing was a convenient disguise that McCririck used, personally.

I'm glad C4 have finally taken the decision to scrap him from their racing coverage as I always considered him to represent the outdated face of racing, and to be frank, his broadcasting style was past its sell by date a decade ago.

For him to claim that C4 are being ageist is just disingenuous as it's perfectly possible for a presenter of an advanced age to still present in a modern way, but he never bothered to try and move with the times.

Sorry, I didn't know that it was Francome's own decision. I must have not read far enough back down the thread!

On another note I do think that the ad breaks kill the racing coverage, and C4 seem obsessed with showing us the presentation of the trophy ceremonies!! They show all of them, at a time when the are covering the next race and the horses are at the post. Perhaps it is a contractual thing with the sponsors, but it annoys the heck out of me. I'm not interested in the people behind the operations, I'm more interested in seeing the horses who are just about to race. :sleep:

I always thought is was a very ambiguous, but an underlying derogatory term.

If you are getting paid a shed load of cash to host a TV show you don't put in conditions about not working with so and so unless you are a very big name. Plus, the BBC trying to lure Catt to the Beeb doesn't sound like a reason not to get on at all. I would wager it's more to do with promoting Nick Luck as the main reason Catt has gone, no role for him sadly.

I haven't watched C4 racing for years as I have the two racing channels but I've started watching the Morning Line again over the last year or so..........(on plus one, I can't get up at 8........ )

I had about 12 years away from the sport from the mid 90s so I came back to the Morning Line having not seen these people every week. All in all then I had about a 15 year gap between regular viewing

My opinion is that Francombe lost it over those 15 years, I'm afraid he just comes over as a bit of a bumbling idiot now and all the references to him being a ladies man were good fun 15 years ago, but he looks decrepit now..............

Mac is a caricature and an unpleasant one at that

Lesley Graham - I remember her being brought in as 'the totty'...................I don't think she ever had a great knowledge, she was a trainers wife but a solicitor (?) by profession

Thommo is just so 1970s with his incredibly patronising interview style...........i always imagine him interviewing a group of middle aged women and asking if they've come to see the horsey-worsies and did they come on their own .........but who's looking after you !...........and the 'Big fella' is incredibly irritating because he calls himself 'Big Fella'............how awful is that..........remember Paul Ince .....everyone calls me The Guv'nor............err, right..............

If i watched C4 racing I wouldn't miss any of them..........

And what's the story with Emma spencer.........what is she for ?. She looks like she's been repeatedly hit in the face with a shovel, she mouths a few cliches then picks the odds-on favourites...........I mean, seriously, why is she there ?

Is it just me seeing these words going green and bringing up intrusive ads ?

man
women
style
ladies

I am not surprised you haven't watched C4 racing for such a long time swingy!!

It is, as they say, horses for courses.

I cannot stand the way Lesley whistles through her teeth with her S's.

Emma and Mike had a bit of banter going on recently, and she isn't bad at the after race interviews with the jockeys.

As for Alice Plunkett, she never looks like she has been anywhere near hair and make-up before she goes on tv!

Francome still has that 'certain something' about him, especially from a female point of view. The way he turns up at a stables dressed in breeches, shirt tie and windcheater jacket, and at age 60 he still doesn't have the paunch that has to be held up by a belt!! Yes, you know the look .... Big Al take note.

I get very tired of The Morning Line and I don't particularly rate Nick Luck much, however we shall see come 2013 how it all pans out.

As I am not sure what you mean, I am guessing it is just you!

Nothing different for me on her.

Anyone who sees my posts in the racing threads in sport knows I am a big fan of Alice. I like her natural look and she really knows her stuff. So does Emma but I think been so attractive probably hampers her a bit as not everyone takes her so seriously. I will miss her an Catt after today and will look forward to seeing Alice and Fat Al again, even if its only for 2 months.

Edit - I see its Lesley with Fat Al next week

Does Emma still refuse to interview Jamie and Hayley Turner or has the whole affair situation been sorted. I don't watch when they do the interviews afterwards so have not seen if she now does this.

There was a race at (IIRC) Goodwood last year when the sea mist rolled in and you couldn't see a thing.

The horses emerged from the gloom with literally less than 100 yards to run and despite it being a 28 runner race and spread right across the course Holt immediately identified the leading six and called the result correctly.

For me it was the commentary of the year on any sport.

Emma Spencer's just paid tribute to Cattermole as they signed off. It was clearly unrehearsed as Cattermole probably wishes he hadn't said:

"It's been a pleasure doing it with you"

Can you imagine Cattermole flirting with Clare like he does with Emma.

It's a bit more than flirting between them

That would be an interesting show Catt, Emma, Jamie & Hayley all within a few feet of each other with the cameras rolling trying to put on false smiles and niceties.

I don't.

Will miss Fat Al more than most and not sure whether I'll warm to Nick Luck either, but Thompson's time really was up.

Where have I been ... I've not heard about all these shenanigans!!

Didn't realise that Emma and Jamie had split, let alone a Jamie/Hayley affair.

Now surely there is nothing going on between Emma and Catt.

As for the interviews afterwards, I have seen Emma interview Jamie very recently, he never looked at her and mumbled his reply, however I didn't think anything of it as he is always like that.

Have never liked the bloke anyway and could never understand how Emma could put up with such a miserable man with no personality ...... now I find that is just the kind of chap that Hayley likes, poor girl!!!

The off screen goings on are SO much more exciting than the on screen.