Snooker pundit Reanne Evans kicked out of the studio after her ex complained she was distracting him
Snooker pundit Reanne Evans, 35, (pictured) was told to leave the studio at the World Championships by BBC chiefs on April 20 after her ex, who was set to play, labelled her a distraction
A snooker pundit was told to leave the studio by BBC chiefs after her ex, who was set to play, labelled her a distraction.
Reanne Evans, 35, was set to join a live discussion at the World Championships before being hooked on April 20.
The BBC studio was next to the practice area, where her ex, Mark Allen, had been preparing for his upcoming match against China’s Lyu Haotian.
Presenter Radzi Chinyanganya and Evans, who is the women’s world snooker champion, were preparing for the start of the show when world no 13 Allen complained that Evans was a ‘distraction’.
After a discussion between World Snooker Tour officials and her producers, Evans agreed to leave.
The BBC said: ‘For the sake of ten minutes, Reanne left the players’ practice room so Mark Allen could practise before his match without distraction upon his request.’
The broadcaster also said that Evans’ broadcast commitments had not been affected by the incident.
Record 12-times women’s world champion Evans, who is currently battling Allen for maintenance for their 14-year-old daughter, was reported to have been ’embarrassed’.
Speaking about his plea for Evans to leave, Allen said that there had been several cases of other players asking officials for people to be removed while they were practising.
Allen (pictured) said afterwards that there had been several examples of other players requesting for people to leave while they were practising
‘I’m not sure why there is a fuss about this one,’ he added.
MailOnline has approached the World Snooker Tour (WST) for comment.
Mark Allen was knocked out of the competition on Monday after being beaten by Mark Selby.
Following his defeat, Allen said he is planning on having ‘a bit of break’ from snooker in order to address some personal issues, the BBC reports.
Speaking after his defeat, Allen said: ‘There’s numerous things going on off the table which I’d rather not talk about.
‘I will come back but I can’t see me coming back any time soon.’
He added that it is difficult to compete against the best in the world without having a clear head to focus on his game.
Later Hector Nunns came on twitter to share his own views about the incident.
Hector is asking the right questions there.
Whilst I’m sure that there were cases of people removed from the practice room because their behaviour was causing distraction, I doubt that it ever happened to a pundit in the nearby studio. For all we know she was doing her job and was not bothering anyone.
It was very likely World Snooker Tour’s decision but why? For me, they should have told Mark Allen to mind his own business and get on with it instead pandering to his whim. Would they have asked Steve Davis or John Parrott to leave if it had come into Mark’s mind that they are a “distraction” for whatever reason? I strongly doubt it. This is setting a dangerous precedent.
That said, it’s obvious that Mark Allen isn’t in good place at the moment. He has several private issues to sort out, and not just with Reanne. He needs time out of the game to sort them out, and sort himself out as well. I hope he gets the help he needs but I stand by the opinion that I expressed above: Reanne should have stayed and been allowed to do her job. If Mark wasn’t happy he had the choice to leave the practice room himself.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 