In the explosive debate over ageism and television it pays to tread very carefully indeed.

So it was with great delicacy that Fiona Bruce offered her opinion that, depending on the type of show, 'sometimes you want a grey beard, sometimes you need somebody younger'.

Aged 44 and the new host of BBC1's Antiques Roadshow, Miss Bruce is well placed to stand up for the BBC amid claims it is institutionally ageist, particularly towards older women.

'I'm certainly not aware of age being a factor in my career, although I suppose it will become one some day,' says 44-year-old Fiona Bruce

The presenter herself became embroiled in the debate, after she was signed up to replace 75-year-old Michael Aspel on BBC1's Antiques Roadshow.

But despite denying claims of age bias at the corporation, she also admitted her age would become a factor in her career when she gets older.

Her comments come after a string of former  BBC faces, including Kate Adie, Anna Ford and Selina Scott, accused it of discriminating against mature women.

Age factor: Selina Scott says she was overlooked because of her age

There have been claims of ageism over Moira Stuart being dumped as a newsreader and the way Carol Klein was overlooked as main host of Gardeners' World.

Added to this her former co-presenter on Crimewatch, Nick Ross, also left the show amid claims that he was forced out by youth obsessed TV chiefs.

Speaking in this month's Saga magazine Miss Bruce defended the alleged mistreatment of presenters.

She said: 'I'm certainly not aware of age being a factor in my career, although I suppose it will become one some day, but the reality is that in television you need horses for courses.

'Sometimes you want a grey beard, sometimes you need somebody younger.

'A lot of it is simply whether your face fits.'There are things I'd be right for and not right for - I couldn't do the National Lottery programme for instance - and that's the way it is.'

Miss Bruce, who is believed to be on £500,000 a year, also said: "We all get caught up in this.

'You can't win. When I left Crimewatch it was said that they wanted someone younger than me, but Kirsty Young, who took over, is almost as old as I am.

'The worst thing you can be in this industry (TV) now is to be a middle-class white male,' says Jeremy Paxman

'They said Nick Ross was pushed out for being too old, but again, it was his decision to go.

'I think it's all stuff and nonsense, frankly.'

She claimed she had always loved Antiques Roadshow and said it was an antidote to the 'death, war and famine' on the news.

The presenter also admitted she needed to get away from the bleakness of Crimewatch, which she joined as a replacement for murdered Jill Dando.

She said: 'I found it incredibly depressing and upsetting to understand what one person was capable of doing to another.

'I loved doing the programme, and I was completely committed to it, but it could be very grim to work on.'

Her comments come as it was revealed Selina Scott is suing Channel Five for ageism saying it backed out of a presenting deal, because she is too old

The 57-year-old had been approached to fill in for 35-year-old Natasha Kaplinsky, while she is on maternity leave.

It has been claimed that the offer, believed to have been worth up to £200,000, was cancelled when a new head of programmes arrived at the channel.

Earlier this year a senior  BBC news correspondent hit out at the lack of older women getting jobs in television.

Stephanie Flanders, 40,  the corporation's new economics editor, called on the BBC to 'prove wrong' the perception of sexism against older women.

She described as 'nonsense' the notion that being female and over 50 meant that your career would be on the slide.

In America, she pointed out, women such as the veteran journalist and talk show host Barbara Walters are still presenting programmes in their late 70s.

Last week Jeremy Paxman sparked controversy when he claimed that it was actually white middle class men that were most discriminated against in TV.

He pointed to a string of women occupying senior positions in the BBC and at other broadcasters as evidence of their growing dominance.

His comments sparked an angry response from women within the TV industry including Anna Ford and Mariella Frostrup.

Bruce herself has previously said; " 'I work in a visual medium and I am judged by my appearance.

'I do worry about my looks being shot in high definition on the Roadshow,' she says.

She added: 'There's going to come a time when my face won't fit any more, for whatever reason. When I got the job of presenter on the Six other people were being fired. I got taken in one door and I was hired.'