HAMPSHIRE Sky Sports presenter Charlotte Jackson was today at the centre of a sexism storm after football pundit Andy Gray was last night sacked for making controversial remarks to her.

Gray, 55, was given the red card from his £2m-a-year job after Sky Sports bosses said new evidence of “unacceptable and offensive behaviour” had come to light over an off-air incident between him and Charlotte in December last year. Gray, a former Scotland international, had initially been disciplined for making comments about female assistant referee Sian Massey before a match on Saturday between Liverpool and Wolves.

Then sexist footage emerged on a website showing Gray laughing after asking his 33-year-old colleague Charlotte to “tuck this in” while gesturing towards a microphone near his waist.

Sports-mad Charlotte was born in Hampshire in 1977 and represented the county in lacrosse and tennis. She began a modelling career in 2005 and began her rise to fame by becoming a presenter on sports-related websites before she joined Sky Sports in August 2009.

Her parents live in Wickham, where her mother Chris, a former England lacrosse player, runs health and fitness classes.

Mum-of-three Chris told the Daily Echo she was “shocked” after a call from her only daughter last night.

She said she was “proud” of her daughter, who is “an attractive woman working in a male-dominated industry”, but she would not comment further on the Sky Sports saga.

A statement from Sky Sports confirmed Gray’s contract had been terminated.

It read: “The decision, which is effective immediately, was made in response to new evidence of unacceptable and offensive behaviour.

“The new evidence, relating to an off-air incident that took place in December 2010, came to light after Andy Gray had already been subjected to disciplinary action for his comments of January 22, 2011.”

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Barney Francis, managing director of Sky Sports, said: “Andy Gray’s contract has been terminated for unacceptable behaviour. After issuing a warning, we have no hesitation in taking this action after becoming aware of new information.”

Gray and presenter Richard Keys were stood down from Monday night’s Premier League match between Bolton Wanderers and Chelsea after mocking remarks about 25-year-old assistant referee Ms Massey were leaked.

The pair agreed that women “probably don’t know the offside rule” and predicted Ms Massey would drop a clanger during Saturday’s match, but she ended up correctly calling a crucial borderline decision. Keys rang Ms Massey personally to apologise.

Sky Sports reporter Andy Burton has also been taken off the air for his involvement in the exchange.

He described 25-year-old Miss Massey as “a bit of a looker”, referring to comments by another colleague. The reporter continued: “He (a Sky Sports crew member) says she (Massey) is all right. Now, I don’t know if I should trust his judgement on that?”

Gray replied: “No, I wouldn’t. I definitely wouldn’t... I can see her from here.” He then swore and added: “What do women know about the offside rule?”

Last night Gray hired lawyers Schillings over the termination of his contract.

Ex-Saints and England player Peter Reid, a friend of Gray’s, suggested the sacking may be linked to the fact that Gray is pursuing legal action in relation to alleged phone-hacking by the News of the World – a subsidiary of News Corporation, which owns a large stake in BSkyB and is seeking to purchase the whole company.

Mr Reid, currently Plymouth Argyle manager, said: “He has got lawyers involved with the phone-hacking at News International. I did think of linking the two things. The comments weren’t great, but I think it was a joke and I have got a feeling they might be linked in some way.”