Joan Bakewell, 91, reveals she regrets being known as 'the thinking man's crumpet' after creating a 'frivolous' stereotype as a 60s sex symbol Have YOU got a story? Email tips@dailymail.com By Paul Revoir Media Editor Published: 19:01 EDT, 6 October 2024 | Updated: 19:24 EDT, 6 October 2024 e-mail 14 shares View comments Veteran broadcaster Joan Bakewell has said she regrets becoming known as 'the thinking man's crumpet', as her image created a stereotype about a 'frivolous girl with short skirts'. The TV presenter was given the moniker in the 1960s, which stuck for many years, after she appeared in ground-breaking BBC2 discussion programme Late Night Line-Up.
One of relatively few prominent female TV presenters in the sixties, she appeared on air in fashionable clothing, like chic dresses and miniskirts, becoming a sex symbol during the decade. But in a speech about her career in broadcasting Dame Joan, 91, said she was not comfortable at having being judged on her appearance, saying it made her feel that the things she cared about did not matter to people. Giving the Royal Television Society/ The Media Society Steve Hewlett Memorial Lecture, she said: 'I was one of the first few women to be on television.
. And with it, goes the attention of Fleet Street, which is not particularly attractive, and I got a label which had stuck with me for quite a long time until I got too old for it. Joan Bakewell has said she regrets becoming known as 'the thinking man's crumpet', as her ima.