This is actually a major breakthrough, insanely enough.

One employee of the BBC actually Believes In the Science (TM) and is willing to share it with the public. Huzzah.

Note that a presenter had previously been disciplined for accurately stating that a "transgender woman" who won a chess tournament was, in fact, a male.

But now the BBC is sensing the public's growing hostility to woke lies, and is said to be supporting the presenter's brave use of simple honesty.

BBC bosses have backed a television presenter who corrected the phrase "pregnant people" to "women" while broadcasting live, in what has been welcomed as a rejection of gender-neutral language.

Martine Croxall, 56, was citing a study about protecting vulnerable people in hot weather and, after reading out the report's phrasing, immediately rolled her eyes and changed the wording to "women".

"Malcolm Mistry, who was involved in the research, says that the aged, pregnant people ... women ... and those with pre-existing health conditions need to take precautions," she said.

JK Rowling was among those to support the presenter, calling Croxall "her new favourite BBC presenter" on X, and the former Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova also backed her.

Croxall added: "A huge thank you to everyone who has chosen to follow me today for whatever reason. It's been quite a ride."

She has gained almost 50,000 followers on the social media platform since the incident on Sunday afternoon.

BBC bosses are also understood to have been "intensely relaxed" about the wording amid concerns from some staff that Croxall may have faced disciplinary action.
Last year Justin Webb, a presenter of Today on Radio 4, was found to have partially breached BBC guidelines over the way in which he described a transgender woman in a debate about chess.

Webb was told that he was at fault for describing the transgender woman as "in other words, male" during a debate in August 2023 about guidelines issued by the international chess federation about whether men have an advantage in the game.

But the BBC's position appears to have shifted since Webb was sanctioned.
Following Sunday's broadcast, bosses are understood to have checked in with Croxall in a supportive way.

"It's a real cultural moment," said one fellow BBC presenter, who said that there is a groundswell of support internally for using "honest language".