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.
