Offence to some

Watch: McGovern v Johnson 👊 pic.twitter.com/Xl78oJ0mU0

— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) September 13, 2019

As the Sun's Tom Newton Dunn put it yesterday: 

BBC Breakfast presenter and conference compere Steph McGovern sticks one on the PM after he leaves the stage: “I'd just like to point out, I am a girly swot and I’m proud of it. Let’s see who’s in the job the longest”.

Steph (whose birthname is Stephanie) has now, as is the way of such things, apologised for her joke. Or, at least, half-apologised (as is also the way of such things):

At a non BBC event I was hosting today, I made a light hearted remark after the Prime Minister’s speech. Sorry that this caused offence to some. That was absolutely not my intention.

Opinion has split is the usual sharp way over the story, but I'll quote recently-departed (from the BBC) Giles Dilnot on the matter and end there:

Lots of people loving Steph McGovern's witty burn on the PM and frankly it was a good line, lots of people less impressed. Actually in the end it doesn’t matter what she said or what we think: in her job, like when I had the same, you can’t, you just can’t. Still a good line tho. 😏  

She’s great. Really good broadcaster and sharp, but you can’t do that stuff as a BBC presenter in news and she is in news.