Ackroyd presented her last Look North programme on 1 March 2013. Several weeks later, a Yorkshire Post article questioned her absence from the programme and whether her salary, reported to be around £150,000 per year, was justified. The BBC declined to explain her prolonged absence, citing unspecified "editorial reasons". Shipley MP Philip Davies called for the corporation to explain whether Ackroyd was still being paid despite her ongoing absence.
