BBC presenter John Inverdale provoked fury yesterday after making a disparaging remark about the physical appearance of Women’s singles champion Marion Bartoli. Speaking on Radio 5 Live, he posed the question: ‘Do you think Bartoli’s dad told her when she was little, “You’re never going to be a looker?”’ His comments an hour before Ms Bartoli's match against Germany's Sabine Lisicki sparked widespread criticism with the BBC forced to apologise. But Bartoli today made light of his remarks - inviting Inverdale to ‘come and see me in my ball gown and heels’. Crass remark: John Inverdale has forced the BBC into making an appology after he suggested that Marion Bartoli the women's Wimbledon champion was 'never going to be a looker'
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The presenter quipped: 'Do you think Bartoli's dad told her when she was little, "You’re never going to be a looker?"'
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His remark provoked widespread fury and and anger from Bartoli's father
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Apology comes as Bartoli faced attacks on Twitter from vile online trolls
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‘So I have apologised to @placeholder by letter if any offence was caused and I do hope that we can leave the matter there now’.
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But the Twitter attacks have prompted an outpouring of criticism online as with @placeholder supporters rushing to her defence.