BBC ‘have spoken to’ Laura Kenny after accused of selling manufacturers
BBC bosses are said to have spoken to Dame Laura Kenny after the cycling legend appeared to promote luxury clothing brands while presenting live in Paris.
The 32-year-old former track and road cyclist was accused of promoting Breitling watches and plugging Reiss dresses on the BBC during the Olympics.
She seemed to break the Corporation’s strict guidelines for on-air talent which prohibit them from promoting brands on screen.
Dame Laura, a Breitling brand ‘ambassador’, appeared on air wearing one of their £2,750 luxury timepieces and also tagged the brand in a social media post.
She also tagged the upmarket fashion brand Reiss in several other Instagram posts, but it has since been confirmed she has no commercial ties with the clothing firm.
The Telegraph reported that the BBC has spoken to Dame Laura to remind her of the rules around advertising. MailOnline has contacted the BBC and Kenny’s representatives for further comment.
The Dame is accused of breaking strict rules about advertising after the Breitling brand advertiser wore one of its £2,750 watches on-air while interviewing her husband
Dame Laura Kenny has got herself in hot water after she appeared to promote the upmarket clothing brand Reiss on social media straight after she wore clothes from the brand on the BBC
For the closing ceremony in the French capital, the cycling star opted for a £228 pink dress
She has since removed mention of brands from her social media posts.
After the Mail on Sunday previously approached her team, a spokesman said: ‘Dame Laura is not an ambassador for Reiss.’ The Olympics host then removed references to the firm from all of her social media photos posted during her presenting stint.
One Instagram post by Breitling read: ‘Ambassador Laura Kenny looking gorgeous in the Endurance Pro 38.’
While interviewing her seven-time Olympic gold medallist husband Jason, she also wore a Breitling watch and the brand reacted with a clapping hands emoji.
The BBC’s rules state: ‘No on-air talent should promote products, goods, services or clothing they use on air.’ This includes anything they have ‘agreed, or been contracted, to promote or in which they have financial interest’.
A BBC source told The Mirror: ‘She is no longer on air but will be removing the tags from BBC-related posts.’
Laura Kenny posted the pictures on her Instagram page during the Olympics
Dame Laura posted a slew of pictures on her Instagram page wearing Reiss during the Games
In the pictures she wrote @reiss to allow people to find the clothing brand from her page
After her first day in her new job since retiring from track cycling, Dame Laura had received hundreds of messages from fans praising her commentary.
The 32-year-old posted on Instagram: ‘The best first day in the studio! Thank you all so much for all the lovely messages about my punditry. I really appreciate every single one of them. Bring on the rest of the week.’
The five-times Olympic champion accompanied the post with pictures of her wearing a stylish £248 double-breasted jumpsuit. The cycling star added that her ‘outfit and shoes’ were from Reiss.
Over the following week as a BBC commentator, the cycling star showed off her dazzling wardrobe.
On one social media post she was sitting on the presenting sofa with fellow cyclist Sir Chris Hoy wearing a £298 powder blue double-breasted blazer, with the message: ‘I’ve had to pinch footage from BBC Sport because my full length outfit photo doesn’t show just how beautiful the colour of this suit is.’
Laura poses with her Gold medal after her victory in the Women’s Omnium on August 16, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro
Laura Kenny celebrates winning a gold medal during the Women’s Madison final of the track cycling on day fourteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
In another post captioned ‘Same dress, different lighting’, Dame Laura wore a £228 yellow sleeveless midi dress. For the closing ceremony in the French capital, the cycling star celebrated and opted for a £228 vibrant pink halterneck dress.
The Corporation’s highest paid presenter Gary Lineker, who earns £1.35million a year at the BBC, was rebuked in June, after he appeared to be wearing outfits from his own fashion range.
The BBC was contacted for comment over Dame Laura’s posts.
