Sue Barker, Her Life, Her Husband (Lance Tankard) Career
Sue Barker has enjoyed a long career on our TV's. The BBC presenter has become a familiar face as a presenter for Tennis, Athletics and the panel show "question of sport". She has recently announced her retirement recently and we wanted to run down her life, achievements and some things you may not know about her life, as detailed in her excellent new book.
Broadcasting
Sue Barker has been the figurehead of the BBC's Wimbledon coverage since 1993 but has been a person of note in the Tennis world since her 1976 French Open win.
Her career on our Televisions may have only begun in 1993, but Sue had become a main fixture for BBC sports broadcasting. Her accolated included everything from Wimbledon, the Athletics, Swimming, and Horse riding and she extended her contract to cover the 2012 London Olympics where she was the chief presenter.
Barker earned her MBE in the year 2000 ad her OBE in 2016. More recently she was accolated with a CBE in 2021 just after her retirement from 24 years of presenting "Questions 0f Sport". In June 2022 she announced that she would be ending her career completely by presenting the Wimbledon tennis championship for one last time.
Who is Sue Barker’s husband? Who is Lance Tankard?
While we all know Sue, you may not know Lance Tankard. The Former Policeman met Sue in Portugal, in 1988, where Sue was working as a tennis coach. What started as a holiday romance blossomed when they met each other while out a dinner accidentally, as their kitchens were being redone.
The pair were married in 1988 and have been married together ever since.
Where Lance succeeded, previous highlights in Sue's love life included Syd Ball (an Australian tennis player who Sue had been engaged until 1978), and Sir Cliff Richard. The two met and dated in 1982 and had been the UK's most high-profile couple at the time; a darling sports star and pop star at the height of his popularity.