BBC presenter scandal: Director-general to face media as controversy deepens
The BBC’s director-general will face the media today as the scandal over a top presenter deepens.
Tim Davie will speak to journalists as he unveils the broadcaster’s annual report, which is set to reveal how much its biggest stars are paid.
But the briefing will likely be overshadowed by questions about the unnamed celebrity who has been suspended amid allegations he paid a teenager for sexually explicit photographs.
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The young person at the centre of the controversy has released a statement to the BBC that says nothing inappropriate or unlawful happened – describing allegations made by The Sun as “rubbish”.
Their lawyer added that the 20-year-old is estranged from their mother and stepfather, who made the claims to the newspaper.
In response, the young person’s mother told The Sun she stood by her claims, alleged the presenter “has got into their head”, and questioned how they were able to afford legal representation.
Meanwhile, their stepfather has accused the BBC of “not telling the truth” – and claimed the broadcaster had lied when it said “new allegations” had led to the presenter’s suspension.
“I told them the youngster was 20 and it had been going on for three years. It’s not hard to do the maths,” he said.
“I told the BBC I had gone to the police in desperation but they couldn’t do anything as they said it wasn’t illegal. They knew all of this.”
He went on to claim that the BBC ignored emails sent on 19 May that allegedly included bank statements showing payments made by the presenter.
The BBC earlier confirmed it had received a complaint in May.
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What are the allegations?
According to The Sun, which first broke the story on Saturday, the presenter paid the young person about £35,000 in exchange for sexually explicit images during a three-year period.
He allegedly began requesting the images in 2020 when the individual was 17 years old and made a series of payments over the years.
The individual had reportedly used the money to fund an addiction to crack cocaine that had “destroyed” their life, according to their mother.
It was also alleged the presenter stripped to his underwear during a video call with them.
The Metropolitan Police have been called in over the claims but are yet to open a criminal investigation, with a statement saying the force is “assessing the information … and further enquiries are taking place to establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offence being committed”.
While The Sun has not revealed the name of the star, they have said he is paid a six-figure salary and is currently off air.
Following the publication of allegations in the press, the presenter reportedly contacted the young person involved – phoning them and asking: “What have you done?”
A number of high-profile presenters at the BBC – including the likes of 5 Live’s Nicky Campbell, Eurovision’s Rylan and Top Gear’s Paddy McGuinness – have all been forced to publicly deny it is them who have been suspended, after social media users named them online.
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Joy star James Norton on the ‘postcode lottery’ of IVF – and playing the scientist who was part of creating the first ‘test-tube baby’
Actor James Norton, who stars in a new film telling the story of the world’s first “test-tube baby”, has criticised how “prohibitively expensive” IVF can be in the UK.
In Joy, the star portrays the real-life scientist Bob Edwards, who – along with obstetrician Patrick Steptoe and embryologist Jean Purdy – spent a decade tirelessly working on medical ways to help infertility.
The film charts the 10 years leading up to the birth of Louise Joy Brown, who was dubbed the world’s first test-tube baby, in 1978.
In the UK, statistics show the proportion of IVF cycles paid for by the NHS has dropped from 40% to 27% in the last decade
Norton, who is best known for playing Tommy Lee Royce in the BAFTA-winning series Happy Valley, told Sky News he has friends who were IVF babies and other friends who have had their own children thanks to the fertility treatment.
“But I didn’t know about these three scientists and their sacrifice, tenacity and skill,” he said. The star hopes the film will be “a catalyst for conversation” about the treatment and its availability.
“We know for a fact that Jean, Bob and Patrick would not have liked the fact that IVF is now so means based,” he said. “It’s prohibitively expensive for some… and there is a postcode lottery which means that some people are precluded from that opportunity.”
Bill Nighy, Thomasin McKenzie and James Norton star in Joy. All pics: Netflix/ Kerry Brown
Now, IVF is considered a wonder of modern medicine. More than 12 million people owe their existence today to the treatment Edwards, Steptoe and Purdy worked so hard to devise.
But Joy shows how public backlash in the years leading up to Louise’s birth saw the team vilified – accused of playing God and creating “Frankenstein babies”.
Bill Nighy and Thomasin McKenzie star alongside Norton, with the script written by acclaimed screenwriter Jack Thorne and his wife Rachel Mason.
The couple went through seven rounds of IVF themselves to conceive their son.
Norton portrays scientist Bob Edwards, while McKenzie plays embryologist Jean Purdy
While the film is set in the 1970s, the reality is that societal pressures haven’t changed all that much for many going through IVF today – with the costs now both emotional and financial.
“IVF is still seen as a luxury product, as something that some people get access to and others don’t,” said Thorne, speaking about their experiences in the UK.
“Louise was a working-class girl with working-class parents. Working class IVF babies are very, very rare now.”
In the run-up to the US election, Donald Trump saw IVF as a campaigning point – promising his government, or insurance companies, would pay for the treatment for all women should he be elected. He called himself the “father of IVF” at a campaign event – a remark described as “quite bizarre” by Kamala Harris.
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Bill Nighy ‘proud’ of new film on IVF breakthrough
“I don’t think Trump is a blueprint for this,” Norton said. “I don’t know how that fits alongside his questions around pro-choice.”
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In the UK, statistics from fertility regulator HEFA show the proportion of IVF cycles paid for by the NHS has dropped from 40% to 27% in the last decade.
“It’s so expensive,” Norton said. “Those who want a child should have that choice… and some people’s lack of access to this incredibly important science actually means that people don’t have the choice.”
Joy is in UK cinemas from 15 November, and on Netflix from 22 November
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