Johnny Ball has claimed that he was dumped by the BBC when he turned 50 and that the same happens to other presenters when they reach that age.

The 88-year-old, whose daughter is former BBC Radio 2 host Zoe Ball, hosted various children’s programmes on the network from 1967 onwards, including Play School , Think of a Number and Johnny Ball Reveals All .

His final episodes of Johnny Ball Reveals All aired in 1994, when he was 56. He later competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2012 but was eliminated in the first week.

Speaking about his experience on the BBC last week, Ball told The Dorchester Literary Festival that he “loved every minute of it” but was “gone” when he hit his Fifties.

Johnny Ball with his daughter Zoe (Getty)

“I did Play School for 17 years, I wrote nearly all of Play Away then I did Think Of A Number and Think Again, ” he told according to The Daily Mail .

“I loved every minute of it. But what happens when you are 50 at the BBC? Gone! Zoe was 54. Gone!…