Naga Munchetty’s colleagues feared she was a domestic abuse victim after a squash accident

News anchor Naga Munchetty’s former Channel 4 colleagues believed she was a domestic abuse victim after she turned up to work with cuts and bruises on her face.

The 45-year-old revealed that she suffered the injuries during an accident while playing squash with her husband James Haggar, who inadvertently caught her in the face while swinging his racket.

‘I always loved squash. I have numerous cuts and a bad scar from where my husband slammed the racket into my face,’ she explained on the Her Spirit podcast. ‘With James and I it is always competitive and I am one of those annoying players who get in the way.

‘He hit me with the forehand. So I have this scar, I thought he had broken my jaw. There was blood everywhere so we drove to hospital.

‘When we got there we were separated and they asked about domestic violence – which is right, but James was mortified. He’d never raise his hand to anyone.

‘I worked at C4 News at the time. I went in and the side of my face was black, I had a black eye.

‘I said it was a squash injury and you could see everyone’s concern. James refused to play squash with me for three years afterwards.’ 

The couple – who married in 2007 – turned to golf instead. But that she took out her frustrations at losing on a golf bag once. 

‘James and I have horrendous tempers,’ she added. ‘We don’t row but we are brutal to each other if we have annoyed each other.

‘It is out there, it is said, job done.’