Bingo caller told to cut 'fat ladies' patter by council

They are saucy phrases which have brought a smile to generations of bingo players. When a bingo caller shouts out “two fat ladies'', then all the players know that the number 88 has been pulled out. Just the same, when they hear “legs 11'' then they know they can mark off number 11 on their card.

It's been part of the harmless fun of the game for decades. But now, at one Suffolk bingo hall, those phrases have been banned - because council officials fear they might offend some people.

Bingo caller John Sayers, who is also a councillor, has been advised by officers at Sudbury Town Council that continuing to use the humorous lingo could land them in deep trouble. But it's had the opposite effect, with some players voting with their feet and joining a less politically correct game in nearby Great Cornard.



Mr Sayers, a town, district and county councillor for Sudbury, who calls the numbers at the Town Hall every Monday, said: “I was disappointed but I took good advice. I did not want to bring the Town Hall and myself into disrepute.

“There is a chance if you said 'two fat ladies' and there was a bingo call and you look across the hall and saw two fat ladies they could take it personally. Then we do not know how we stand insurance-wise. In my personal opinion it seems a bit of nonsense and it takes, to a certain extent, a lot of fun out of it.

“It is quite extraordinary the number of things you have to think twice about now. You have to think before you breathe nowadays.”