Beard Liberation Front
11th May
Contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social
Beard Liberation Front sends 76th Birthday Greetings to Jeremy Paxman. He broke the mould for hirsute TV news presenters
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has sent birthday greetings to Jeremy Paxman as he marks his 76th birthday
He hosted University Challenge for 29 years before stepping down in May 2023. In recent times he has been an indefatigable campaigner for those living with Parkinsons.
On August 12th 2013, over ten years ago, Paxman presented Newsnight with a beard he had grown during a break. The clean shaven and Pogonophobic BBC hierarchy had previously banned news and current affairs presenters from wearing beards.
Paxman defied them but appeared clean shaven when presenting Newsnight on 6th January 2014
It is not thought that he ever presented University Challenge while wearing a beard but was frequently to be seen wearing one off-air.
The campaigners say that Paxman’s action broke the clean shaven mould at the BBC and since then hirsute presenter have become a relatively familiar feature
BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, Jeremy Paxman said in 2013 that he had become a ‘poster boy’ for the Beard Liberation Front. As he marks his 76th birthday we say long live Jeremy Paxman and his mould breaking beard
Kmflett's Blog 
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