Sandi Toksvig: I was once fired because charity didn’t want Princess Anne to meet a lesbian
Sandi Toksvig has revealed that she was once sacked from hosting a charity event – because the organisers didn’t want Princess Anne to meet a lesbian.
Speaking on Radio 4’s News Quiz, the comedian opened up about her experience in 1994, when she was dropped from hosting Save the Children’s anniversary celebrations after coming out.
Joking about the charity’s controversial decision to honour Tony Blair, she said: “It’s not the first time Save the Children have got things a little bit on the wrong side.
“20 years ago I was an ambassador for them, I had been for some years, and then I came out in the newspapers.
“Four days before I was to host their massive conference in the Albert Hall, they phoned me up and they fired me – because they didn’t want Princess Anne to meet a lesbian.
“Now, I’m going to guess, having been involved in the equine world, that she probably met one before.
“They told me not to tell anybody, they told me to keep it a secret.
“I don’t know what [they thought I was going to do!] Save the Children, apart from the gay ones!”
The charity said at the time in 1994 that Toksvig “might distract from the events of the day” – but later conceded it had been the wrong decision.
The comedian has three children, and lives with her partner Debbie Toksvig.
