BBC’s Martine Croxall Sparks Praise After Swapping “Pregnant People” for “Women” Live on Air

BBC veteran Martine Croxall has made headlines after calmly correcting the autocue during a live broadcast—swapping out the term “pregnant people” for “women” in a moment that’s quickly gone viral.

While presenting a segment about heat-related health risks, Croxall paused noticeably before making a subtle but deliberate change. The script originally read “pregnant people”, but she revised it mid-sentence, saying:

“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.”

The clip, broadcast live on BBC News, quickly found its way onto social media, where it was widely shared—and widely praised.

Author J.K. Rowling weighed in on X, saying: “I have a new favourite BBC presenter.” The post racked up thousands of likes, retweets and supportive replies.

The campaign group Seen in Journalism also commended the moment, saying: “Good to see accuracy on BBC News.”

Gender-critical commentator James Esses described Croxall’s correction as an act of integrity, saying:

“The BBC is so utterly enthralled to gender ideology that it took a brave newsreader to correct the teleprompter instruction to say ‘pregnant people’ by instead saying ‘women’ afterwards. Let’s hope she isn’t cancelled for her rebellion.”

One viewer posted: “Watch the eye roll as Martine Croxall realises ‘Malcolm’/ the script team have tried to slip in ‘pregnant people’! @BBCNews stop erasing the uniqueness of ONLY the female sex being capable of pregnancy.”

BBC presenter reads “pregnant people” from the teleprompter and then corrects it to “women”.

Takes a brave, brave lady to do this at the BBC. 😅 pic.twitter.com/TXsmO6RHbW

— Hazel Appleyard (@HazelAppleyard_) June 22, 2025

Other responses were similarly glowing: “Take a bow Martine Croxall,” “Well done @MartineBBC for standing up for women & girls AND biological science,”
and
“Give Martine Croxall a pay rise #BBCNews.”

Croxall, who has been with the BBC since 2001, isn’t new to tackling gender and identity-related topics head-on. Back in April, she challenged trans activist Heather Herbert during a segment covering the UK Supreme Court’s ruling that the legal definition of “woman” is based on biological sex.

During that discussion, Herbert claimed: “I feel like I’m under attack.”
To which Croxall calmly replied: “How is it an attack? It’s a clarification of what the word woman means.”
She added: “The ruling is that woman means biological sex.”

Croxall’s most recent on-air moment has only solidified her growing reputation as a presenter who isn’t afraid to go off-script to keep things accurate—and many viewers clearly appreciate it.

As debates around language, gender and biology continue to dominate cultural and political discourse in the UK, it seems moments like this will remain in the spotlight.

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