BBC News: A prominent BBC News sign language interpreter has been sacked after complaints from deaf people revealed that she was ‘sometimes embellishing, sometimes just making stuff up.’
Leslie Grange, 32, has been a sign language interpreter for seven years. In a statement today she cited ‘personal difficulties – particularly a crushing professional boredom’ as to why, over the past six months, she had started deviating from what was actually being reported, giving deaf viewers an often ‘wildly different version of events’.
“Questions started to be raised around the time of the Japanese earthquake when several viewers emailed us to complain about our reports of radioactive zombies sighted near the nuclear reactor. We dismissed them as some sort of organised hoax.”
“However, when there were similar numbers getting in touch to ask if Rebekah Brooks was really in trouble for raping a monkey, and why the BBC was claiming that, as a special summer treat, the Prime Minister had told the nation’s teenagers they didn’t have to pay for anything any more, we realised something was wrong.”
“I would like to apologise to everyone in the deaf community,” Grange told reporters today, “though when I had Cameron tell Obama “your statesmen-like profile leaves my willy plump” – well, frankly I don’t think that is so very far from the truth.”
Story: Jasper Gibson
Image: Q4Nobody
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Sacked She should have been given a medal no point spoiling a good story with the truth.
Makes a change from the usual doom and gloom and politicians completely out of touch with reality
I would disagree with Robert. Anyone making public reference to Cameron’s ‘plump willy’ should face a jail sentence.
Brilliant… I’d marry her tomorrow with a sense of humour like that!!
Give her a programme of her own. I haven’t laughed so much in ages.
Sharron needs to ger a sense of humour by the look of it. its people like her thats ruining our country!!
Sharron “should face a jail sentence”…a wee bit harsh when someone’s just having a laugh…u sound like u have no sense of humour at all! Ok, it was completely unprofessional of her to do it but it didn’t hurt anyone did it…a jail sentence for slagging off Cameron? Really? If that was the case, half the country would be in jail!! Get a life and find a sense of humour!
I love this woman!
This is the kind of woman I want too marry!
Errrrmmm – Lovingit!! & Lisas, it might be worth you actually reading Sharrons email properly.. Her joke was quite obviously wasted on you.
Clearly the BBC should employ someone else to sign properly, and employ Leslie Grange to do her version in subtitles so we can all enjoy it!
Okay mr tree, enlighten us to the joke… because i see no joke in her statement.
love the bit about radioactive zombies..so wish it was true
Agreed with Mr Tree. Because let’s face it, nobody wants to know about Dave’s willy. And if I was running the country, I really would make it an arrestable offence to even reference a boring man’s manpart on national telly.
But yes, give her a spot on telly. Perhaps she could do “Have I Got News For You” for the hearing impaired?
She can have my body anytime, all I need id the right sign! Aye but will I get it ?
Her version of Have I Got News for You would be way better than the show has been for years! However, it’s a shame when someone can lose their livelihood for a slight unprofessional indiscretion and a ginger tory fundraiser can get away with a wristslap for a criminal act. Double standard Britain folks.
Hmmmm wasting the tax payers money on arresting or even locking up someone with a sense of humour would be no joke! Yes I understand why the BBC fired her but anything more than would would be stupid!
at last……..a world in which we can have a right old giggle. Top marks for a real sense of humour….. well done girl!
She didn’t want deaf people to feel left out with the outlandish lies the rest of us hear in a day. Gotta keep it fair!
She didn’t want deaf people to feel left out with the outlandish lies the rest of us hear in a day. Gotta keep it fair!
Thats brilliant, can she do the normal news instead??? make it more interesting :p
haha! I havent laughed so much in ages! She should have been rewarded not sacked! Who wants to listen to the boring news when you could hear about zompies and camrons willy
This is hilarious!! I wish I could understand sign language, might have made the news a bit more cheerful than the normal depressing stuff we here everyday!! She needs to be back on TV with a sense of humor like that
Well done Leslie!
“Hmmmm wasting the tax payers money on arresting or even locking up someone with a sense of humour would be no joke! Yes I understand why the BBC fired her but anything more than would would be stupid!”
I’m starting to worry about the number of people who take the stories on this site seriously…
I’m pretty sure Sharron was joking….? The point being that Cameron’s plump Willy is enough to give her the boke… Am I right Sharron?
Cameron with a plump willy rofl!! Very much doubt it!! This woman’s a legend!!
BRILLIANT – what a star she is . . .give her, her own tv show
To be serious for a moment this is the BBC news and accuracy and unbiased reporting are very important to its reputation and international respect She didn’t get away with it for long and a speaking news reader would have been silenced almost immediately!
Sharron was most definitely was being sarcastic
I love this girl, I loved it when she was doing it. A few of us actually started watching the news more often just for her. Maybe they will bring her back on a special mock news program for everyone to enjoy, even those of you who can hear.
She was sacked for telling lies on the bbc? hahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Her lies were funny, the bbc, and other MSM’s lies encourage ignorance, corruption, Treason, and the slaughter of innocence!!
legend!!! HA!
I’m almost tempted to say she should get a jail sentence. Yes it was a laugh but being able to be certain that what the news media tell you is true is incredibly important. Though I suppose, by that logic, you’d also have to lock up most tabloid journalists.
Good girl…
you know now she’s been sacked this girl will be a legend, and probabaly a proper celebrity soon. Good on her for having a laugh. Nice to see some folk still have a sense of humour.
Zee
yes give her a late night show. As they speak you could subtitle what she is sighning.
Radioactive zombies.
This is brilliant. Sad to see she lost her job at the BBC, but it looks like she has a bright future at the Onion
She is brilliant. Love her excuse of “professional boredom”. And I’d say she wasn’t far off the mark about Rebekah Brooks.
Good stuff, Radioactive zombies, lol made my day!
Since when lying on national TV is a crime?
If they gonna start firing everyone who lies on TV they gonna have a hard time.
As far as I can see, every politician in the world lies through their teeth on national TV at election time. Maybe they should all be banned from the BBC too? If anyone out there watching was actually gullible enough not to realise that the “radioactive Zombies” was a joke then frankly they shouldn’t be let out on their own. They probably answer those emails telling them that they’ve been specially chosen to help the widow of a deposed African leader to rescue their millions from the new regime.
Give her a medal for cheering people up!
The only problem I’d have with this (presuming the story is real), is her choice of subjects to make a mockery of. The Japanese earthquake where a lot of people died, and rape (yes it was a joke about a monkey, but who thinks joking about rape is funny?)… not the best topics to make fun of. Had she chosen more general topics, she might have got away with a less severe punishment. Jokes are funny, but only when the topic is funny.
Completely agree with the above statement from lisa. Those sort of subjects should not be joked about….but when it comes to the government, well that’s just a joke within itself anyway so why not?!
Lucy’s right, jokes are funny, but only when the topic is funny.
Funny, but I’ve watched BBC News 24 for years and I’ve never seen her. In fact, when they do have sign language on screen, it is ALWAYS on the right hand side of the screen and never on the left as shown above (due to the fact the left side is cropped off on 4×3 shaped screens).
This is a fake story.
Ha ha ha ha!! Brilliant! Hats off to her!!
Ms Grange should have her own show. I’m sure there is room for her next to Steven Colbert on Comedy Central here in the US..
“Funny, but I’ve watched BBC News 24 for years and I’ve never seen her. In fact, when they do have sign language on screen, it is ALWAYS on the right hand side of the screen and never on the left as shown above (due to the fact the left side is cropped off on 4×3 shaped screens).
This is a fake story.”
Not meaning to single just you out Stevo, but *claps* well done.
Of course this is fake. This is thepoke.co.uk.
As a translator I agree with sacking her, that is incredibly unprofessional. And stating that it was due to professional boredom? are you kidding? drop the job. She had the responsability to inform the deaf community, she might have a sense of humor, I like her sense of humour myself, but this is ridiculous.
Amazed at all the comments here which are reacting to this as if it were real!
I can see how maybe it’s a bit unfair cause the deaf community might actually watch the news to hear the news. I’ve got a solution though. Give the woman her own show, simples! I’d watch it.
Wouldnt it be great if that was true?! Oh, and for the people saying its the wrong thing to laugh t? Laughter is the only cure to fear…
The comments are funnier than the story! I hope for the sake of mankind the comments are as fake as the story otherwise we should just give up now.