BBC presenter scandal: Jeremy Vine urges unnamed star to come forward after fresh claims
Broadcaster Jeremy Vine has said he believes the BBC presenter accused of paying a teenager thousands of pounds for sexually explicit photos “should now come forward publicly”.
The BBC Radio 2 broadcaster made the remarks after a second person came forward with a complaint about the unnamed presenter.
The individual in their early 20s told BBC News they felt threatened by the presenter at the centre of the scandal that has dominated headlines.
BBC presenter latest: New claims against presenter
“These new allegations will result in yet more vitriol being thrown at perfectly innocent colleagues of his,” Vine tweeted.
“And the BBC, which I’m sure he loves, is on its knees with this.
“But it is his decision and his alone.”
Vine was one of a host of BBC presenters forced to deny being the unnamed star at the centre of scandal, tweeting that “it certainly ain’t me”.
But Richard Bacon, a former BBC radio host, disagreed – saying: “Stop it. You’re more emotionally intelligent than this. We don’t know the complexities of what his family are going through. Or what dark thoughts are running through his head. Irrespective of what he’s done wrong. You can walk off people wrongly guessing it’s you for five minutes.”
Late on Tuesday, further allegations were published by The Sun newspaper – claiming the presenter had broken lockdown rules to meet an individual in their 20s, and had sent “creepy” messages to a 17-year-old in 2018.
The latest allegations add further pressure on the BBC after it suspended the unnamed star over the weekend.
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Questions BBC haven’t answered
Presenter ‘should take control of narrative’
During a special Sky News programme on the BBC scandal, a crisis management expert advised the unnamed presenter to come forward and “take control of the narrative”.
Asked what she would tell the presenter to do, Lauren Beeching said: “Now we have the second person coming forward, without a doubt I’d now be saying ‘you just need to come clean’.
“That would be my personal advice. That’s the only way the person being accused right now can take control of the narrative.”
She said she suspects the presenter will be named “imminently” and it would be “very compelling if he can prove any slight innocence in this, if there’s any evidence he has, [he should] put it out there”.
The presenter should come clean for the sake of his colleagues, she added, as “they’re being scrutinised and it’s just not fair on them”.
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Online impact of the BBC allegations
Other BBC stars speak out
Several other stars have spoken out to distance themselves from the allegations.
BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Nicky Campbell appeared to reveal he had gone to the police after being wrongly named as the man online, posting a screenshot on Twitter which said: “Thank you for contacting the Metropolitan Police Service to report your crime.”
Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker tweeted: “Hate to disappoint the haters but it’s not me.”
TV and radio host Rylan Clark tweeted: “Not sure why my names floating about but re that story in the sun – that ain’t me babe.”
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Several other presenters have also been falsely named on social media but have so far decided not to issue public denials.
Entertainment
Eamonn Holmes opens GB News breakfast show with brief statement on Ruth Langsford divorce
Eamonn Holmes addressed his split from Ruth Langsford as he opened his Tuesday morning show on GB News.
The pair announced on Saturday that they were divorcing after 14 years of marriage.
Holmes spoke about the news briefly to thank people for their support.
He said: “Just before we move on I would just like to thank people for your support for Ruth and I over the last few days as to the news of our separation.
“Your support for both of us is very much appreciated.”
Earlier in the show, he had referenced having an “emotional” weekend watching the FA Cup final between Manchester United and Man City.
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Holmes and Langsford presented ITV daytime chat show This Morning together for 15 years before quitting the show in 2021.
The 64-year-olds tied the knot in 2010, having started dating in 1997.
After leaving This Morning, Holmes joined GB News where he presents the channel’s breakfast show and Langsford is a regular on ITV’s Loose Women.
Together they also presented Channel 5 programmes including How The Other Half Lives and Do The Right Thing With Eamonn And Ruth, and made numerous appearances on Channel 4’s Celebrity Gogglebox.
Holmes is also a former Sky News presenter.
Entertainment
Doug Ingle: Iron Butterfly lead vocalist who sang rock classic In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida dies
Doug Ingle, the last surviving member of the original line-up of heavy rock band Iron Butterfly, has died aged 78.
Ingle was the lead vocalist and organist in the band he co-founded in 1966 – singing their 17-minute long signature hit In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, which featured in a 1995 episode of The Simpsons.
The musician’s son announced his father’s passing on social media but did not give a cause of death.
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida featured on Iron Butterfly’s 1968 album of the same name, which spent 81 weeks in the top 10 in the US.
The record was eventually certified quadruple-platinum, meaning it sold at least 400,000 copies.
The title track became legendary and something of a running joke in rock circles, with its length meaning late-night disc jockeys could put it on while going for a cigarette or toilet break.
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is a slurred version of “in the Garden of Eden” – as allegedly misheard by the band’s drummer Ron Bushy when Ingle was first presenting the song to the band.
In The Simpsons episode Bart Sells His Soul, the skateboarding mischief-maker sneaks a version of the song into his church’s worship service under the title “In The Garden Of Eden”.
“Hey, Marge, remember when we used to make out to this hymn?” Homer whispers in the episode.
The song was also covered by other bands, including Slayer, The Residents, Boney M and the Incredible Bongo Band, whose version was twice-sampled by the rapper Nas. It also appeared memorably in Michael Mann’s 1986 thriller movie Manhunter.
The track ended up being 17 minutes long partly due to Iron Butterfly’s studio engineer Don Casale asking the band to play through the song so he could set his levels and him hitting record without the band members realising.
The extended practice run ended up being the master take.
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Ingle’s son, Doug Ingle Jr, said in a statement confirming his father’s death: “It’s with a heavy heart and great sadness to announce the passing of my father Doug Ingle.
“Dad passed away peacefully this evening in the presence of family. Thank you dad for being a father, teacher and friend. Cherished loving memories I will carry the rest of my days moving forward in this journey of life. Love you Dad.”
Ingle was the last-surviving member of the original line-up of the band, following the deaths of guitarist Erik Brann in 2003, bassist Lee Dornan in 2012 and drummer Ron Bushy in 2021.
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Dozens of musicians have been part of the group in its various incarnations over the decades.
That’s not including the four musicians who tour as Iron Butterfly today – none of whom go further back with the band further than 1995.
Bruce Springsteen has cancelled a series of dates due to “vocal issues”, days after performing in what he described as “hellacious” weather in Sunderland.
The US star, 74, postponed shows in Marseille, Prague and Milan over the next fortnight, with his European tour set to resume in Madrid on 12 June.
In an Instagram post on Sunday, he said he was “recuperating comfortably” and he and the E Street Band “look forward to resuming their hugely successful European stadium tour”.
With “further examination” and “consulting”, the statement also said, doctors determined Bruce “should not perform for the next 10 days”.
Springsteen had played at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light on Wednesday, where he admitted the weather was particularly wet.
As he was honoured at London’s Ivor Novello Awards on Thursday, he said: “We just… came out of the plane in Sunderland last night, (it was) hellacious weather.
Sir Paul McCartney presented Bruce Springsteen with the Fellowship of The Ivors Academy. Pic: Dave Hogan/Hogan Media/Shutterstock
“Driving rain storm, the wind blowing, blowing, blowing, and standing… in front of me, in the rain, I realised: these are my people.”
Springsteen also treated the audience to his song Thunder Road, after Sir Paul McCartney presented him with his Ivors Academy fellowship.
New dates for his postponed shows will be announced shortly, according to his Instagram account, and anyone seeking a refund “will be able to obtain it at their original point of purchase”.
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He rescheduled dates in August last year in the US after he was taken ill, and cancelled planned concerts in March 2023 over other issues.
His first major tour in six years saw him play a headline gig in London’s Hyde Park in July 2023.
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