A BBC newsreader who caught public attention for altering the phrase “pregnant people” to “women” during a live segment has been found in violation of the BBC’s impartiality guidelines.

In a June broadcast, Martine Croxall decided to deviate from her script while introducing a guest who was set to talk about vulnerable groups during heatwaves.

Croxall stated, “Malcolm Mistry, who participated in the research, indicates that the elderly, pregnant people … women … and individuals with pre-existing health conditions should exercise caution.”

The BBC’s executive complaints unit (ECU) has since determined that Croxall’s facial expression during this change suggested she was conveying a personal opinion on a contentious issue.

The ECU noted that Croxall’s expression might imply a specific stance on the ongoing debates about trans identity.

After the broadcast, the complaints unit noted Croxall received both critical and congratulatory messages which “tended to confirm that the impression of her having expressed a personal view was widely shared across the spectrum of opinion on the issue”.

At the time Croxall noted on X that she had gained followers after the broadcast.

The ECU also noted “giving the strong impression of expressing a personal view on a controversial matter, even if inadvertently, falls short of the BBC’s expectations of its presenters and journalists in relation to impartiality, the ECU upheld the complaints”.

The unit said Croxall was “reacting to scripting, which somewhat clumsily incorporated phrases from the press release accompanying the research, including ‘the aged’, which is not the BBC style, and ‘pregnant people’, which did not match what Dr Mistry said in the clip which followed”.