“People Are Incredibly Sad”: Behind The Scenes Of The BBC’s Crisis Over Presenter Sex Pics Allegations
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To say the mood is grim at the BBC would be an understatement. In a long line of recent crises, a messy, murky, seemingly sordid scandal involving a top presenter could prove to be its gravest in a decade.
The identity of the man has not been reported by any major media outlet because of the UK’s strict defamation and privacy case law, but his identity is an open secret at the BBC.
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Deadline has spoken to several of the individual’s close colleagues in recent days and there is a mixture of shock and sorrow at the allegations. “People are incredibly sad,” said one person.
There is anger too. Anger that the BBC did not even question the presenter until seven weeks after a complaint was made against him.
Anger that wild speculation over the presenter’s identity has become, as one senior insider described it, a “national sport” in which innocent stars have been wrongly named in connection with the allegations.
Anger that the BBC’s wounds are sometimes self-inflicted, like the embarrassing climbdown in March over Gary Lineker breaking impartiality rules.
“It’s an accumulation, an aggregation of things,” said one on-screen star, referring to Director General Tim Davie’s three years in office. “This could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”
There is also a foreboding sense that the full scale of the latest crisis is yet to emerge. It remains a confusing picture, amid claims and counterclaims about whether the unnamed presenter paid a teenager for explicit images, potentially breaking the law in the process.
BBC boss Davie faced the press today for the first time since the presenter scandal broke. Leaning heavily on a scripted timeline of events, he attempted to answer some of the many questions that shroud the story.
Together with Deadline’s conversations with BBC insiders, the timeline provides a detailed insight into what went on behind the scenes when one of the corporation’s biggest stars faced allegations of serious misconduct.
May 18
A visitor to a BBC building requested to make a complaint about how a top BBC presenter treated their child, who is now aged 20.
May 19
The BBC’s audience services team received a complaint from the same individual. Davie said the complaint was “very serious” in nature, but not criminal.
The audience services team referred the matter to the BBC’s corporate investigations team, which is led by Jeff Brown, a former police detective. Brown is highly respected by BBC employees, who speak glowingly about the protection and investigation services his team offers.
Brown decided that the allegations warranted further investigation, so his team emailed the complainant requesting more information. They did not respond. Checks were also carried out to verify the complainant’s identity.
June 6
More than two weeks after the complainant failed to respond to the BBC’s email, Brown’s team phoned a cell number for the person. The call did not connect, according to the BBC.
The complainant’s recollection of events differed from the BBC. They told The Sun newspaper that they had a one-hour conversation with the corporation, though it is not clear when this exchange took place.
Either way, the investigations team did not escalate the complainant’s concerns to senior BBC managers. Davie has today launched a review of BBC “red flag” procedures. He said that the investigations unit has dealt with 230 cases in the past six months and not all got reported to managers.
The presenter in question remained on air, much to the dismay of the family who lodged concerns about his exchanges with their child. At no point was the presenter questioned for his version of events.
Thursday, July 6
The Sun contacted the BBC to make the corporation aware of a story it planned to run about the unnamed presenter’s alleged misconduct.
The source of the article was the same family who raised concerns with the BBC in May, but the corporation said their accusations were of a “different nature” to those in the original complaint.
The Sun claimed that the presenter was paying the family’s child for sexual images, which was in turn funding their crack cocaine addiction. The allegations could be criminal in nature given the young person was allegedly aged 17 when they were first in contact with the presenter.
Davie and senior managers were made aware of the allegations for the first time and an emergency incident management group was assembled.
The presenter was also told about the claims for the first time, seven weeks after the original complaint against him. One insider said it was “ridiculous” that the presenter was not questioned sooner, but Davie said the BBC needed to verify the complaint before it was discussed with the star.
Davie has not spoken to the presenter. It was agreed that he would not appear on air.
Friday, July 7
The BBC again attempted to contact the family. The corporation referred the allegations from The Sun to the Metropolitan Police. The Sun published its story.
Sunday, July 9
The family sent the BBC’s investigations team materials related to the complaint.
The BBC suspended the star in question. A source said he was due to appear on the BBC on Monday, but another presenter stepped in to fill his duties.
Monday, July 10
The BBC met with Metropolitan Police to discuss the case. The broadcaster was advised to suspend its own investigation as detectives look into the allegations. The Met is yet to launch a formal investigation.
BBC insiders said managers were involved in conversations with the presenter over his potential resignation. Sources said a statement was prepared, but not agreed upon. Some of the star’s colleagues were unsurprised by his decision to fight his corner.
Davie declined to comment on whether the star offered his resignation. The Director General suggested that the presenter was receiving support under the BBC’s duty of care procedures.
As discussions were ongoing, BBC News reported on a letter from the young person’s lawyer. The individual denied the allegations made by his parents in The Sun newspaper.
“For the avoidance of doubt, nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place between our client and the BBC personality and the allegations reported in The Sun newspaper are rubbish,” the letter said.
The parents of the youth stood by their story. The Sun stood by its reporting.
Tuesday, July 11
BBC News reported on allegations made by a second young person against the presenter. The star allegedly sent the young person abusive and expletive-filled messages.
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