BD - // Why do they always assume that ex sportsmen/women can become presenters? Does not always follow so we shall just have to wait and see. I remember when they had Sally Gunnel and Linford Christie commentating on athletics and they were both dreadful and didn't last long thank goodness. //
A valid point - skill in one area does not automatically confer skill in another.
That's not to say that the new set of skills cannot be learned - clearly they can, and there are plenty of examples.
What is wrong is the automatic assumption - which more often than not proves to be utterly without foundation.
In a similar vein, when singers try acting, and vice versa, the results are often lamentable.
The BBC has a long an seriously poor track record in this area, along with its equally misjudged habit of assuming a level of popularity for its stars that again is utterly misplaced.
That's why one or more individuals crop up on ever more shows until the penny drops, and they disappear back to, either the area for which they were known and famous, or, if terminal damage is done - to obscurity.
Remember Patrick Kielty the 'comedian'? The BBC tried seven ways from Sunday to force him onto the public, and he was universally rejected, not only for not being remotely funny, but also for not possessing anything within a country mile of an appealing personality.
The last example, to which I refer when this topic comes up - was Len Goodman.
On Strictly he was loveable old Len the cockernee 'charmer' - away from it he was an annoying old fool with a harsh accent and nothing remotely of interest to say about anything - hence all subsequent projects like a quiz and radio show, dropped and unlikely to return.
It's not rocket science! If I can see this, why can't eight-figure salary BBC executives see it?