Presenter John Inverdale has "explained" why he got into hot water when he said that Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli was "never going to be a looker" — he was suffering from hay fever.

As Marion Bartoli powered to victory in straight sets in the Wimbledon final on Saturday, thousands took to social networking sites to praise how she was comprehensively defeating her opponent.

The BBC faced mounting pressure to take action against one of its most high-profile sports presenters for criticising the appearance of France’s Marion Bartoli who won this year’s Wimbledon women’s singles title.

Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli has said she would not let comments about her appearance from a senior BBC presenter spoil the greatest day of her life.