TV presenter and former newsreader, Kirsty Young, has slammed what she calls the “ridiculous” lack of older women in prominent roles on TV.

Kirsty’s remarks were prompted by the fact that a young female was chosen to join Jon Snow for Channel 4 news, rather than a more mature co-host.

Speaking to Easy Living magazine, Kirsty said, “People who run TV will say there isn’t ageism, but there are hardly any older women on screen. Who is there?

“There’s Anne Robinson and that’s it. And then you look to America, where you have Barbara Walters, who’s in her seventies and still on primetime television: they have a much healthier outlook.

“We need to sort that out. I think it’s ridiculous…

“Hopefully things will change and I’ll still be doing the job when I’m 55, but right now it certainly seems that there is a significant imbalance.”

Kirsty went on to say that women in TV tend to be scrutinised about their appearance in a way that men aren’t.

She said, “It is horrendous. But if you’re in television, you either get out if it bothers you so much, or you try to find a way of participating in the game that is acceptable to you.

“I’ve chosen an area of the media where, I hope, how I look is secondary to how well I do my job.”