‘It’s not respectful’

Sue Barker previously revealed why she wishes she had never gone near her ex-boyfriend Sir Cliff Richard.

The former tennis player and TV presenter – who is on Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh today (August 24) – had a whirlwind romance back in the early 1980s with singer Cliff.

However, their relationship wasn’t to last, and a few years ago, Sue Barker begged Sir Cliff to stop “harping on” about their fling.


Sue previously opened up about her romance with Cliff (Credit: BBC)

Sue Barker on her relationship with Cliff Richard

Following the end of his brief romance with Sue, Cliff hasn’t been shy about talking about their relationship. In past interviews, he even revealed he was considering popping the question.

I realised that I didn’t love her quite enough.

“I seriously contemplated asking her to marry me, but in the end I realised that I didn’t love her quite enough to commit the rest of my life to her,” Cliff has said in the past.

But according to Sue – who has since found love with husband Lance Tankard – marriage was never on the agenda for her and Cliff. And in her 2022 autobiography, Sue revealed the blunt reason she wishes she’d never met the singer…


Sue claimed Cliff ‘looked silly’ for ‘harping on’ about her (Credit: ITV)

 Sue calls out Cliff for ‘harping on’ about her

Writing in her memoir, Calling The Shots: My Autobiography, shared with MailOnline, Sue revealed that following their split she “remained friends” with Cliff.

However, she noted that “the only thing we fell out over was the fact that he kept harping on about me in interviews”.

A frustrated Sue added: “If someone had told me that my relationship with Cliff would last a few months but I’d still be hearing about it 40 years later, I wouldn’t have gone near him.”

Sue continued: “Frankly, it looks silly now that he’s still talking about a relationship that was never really more than a friendship.”

The TV star revealed that she had spoken to Cliff and his agent and manager and asked Cliff “not to bring up our time together in interviews”, saying “it has been frustrating”.

She added: “Yes, I really enjoyed our early friendship, but continuing to harp on about me simply isn’t fair, not just to me but to Lance, who has been constantly reminded why someone else wouldn’t marry his wife. It’s not respectful.”