Timeline of allegations about BBC presenter

Mon, 10 Jul, 2023 - 12:18

Cormac Pearson, PA

The BBC has suspended a male member of staff following allegations an unnamed presenter paid a teenager tens of thousands of pounds for sexually explicit images.

Here is a timeline of the events surrounding the emergence and fallout from the allegations:

Friday, May 19th

The family of the person, who was 17 when the presenter allegedly started payments back in 2020, complained to the BBC and became frustrated when the presenter stayed on air.

They reportedly asked the broadcaster to stop the man “sending the cash”.

Thursday, July 6th

The BBC said they became aware of new allegations against the male presenter.

A statement said: “New allegations were put to us on Thursday of a different nature and in addition to our own inquiries we have also been in touch with external authorities, in line with our protocols.”

Friday, July 7th

The Sun publishes an exclusive which reveals a BBC presenter is facing allegations he paid a total of £35,000 for sexual content.

The BBC responded to the article with a statement saying: “We treat any allegations very seriously and we have processes in place to proactively deal with them.”

Saturday, July 8th

BBC presenters choose to publicly clear their names, including Gary Lineker, Jeremy Vine, Rylan Clark and Nicky Campbell.

Hate to disappoint the haters but it’s not me.

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) July 8, 2023

Sunday, July 9th

The BBC says in a statement that they have suspended a male presenter from all duties and have contacted Metropolitan Police over the allegations.

In a statement on Sunday evening, the Metropolitan Police said: “The Met has received initial contact from the BBC in relation to this matter, but no formal referral or allegation has been made.”

The Sun reported the presenter allegedly made two calls to the young person and asked them to call their mother to “stop the investigation” after the Sun exclusive was published.