A prominent male presenter has been suspended by the BBC following accusations against him.
Urgent talks have taken place between the BBC’s director and culture secretary Lucy Frazer following claims the individual paid a teenager £35,000 in exchange for explicit images.
The identity of this well-known figure remains undisclosed, but The Sun reported that he is a “household name” with a six-figure salary.
The Met Police met with BBC bosses on Monday and said it is “assessing information” but no investigation has been launched.
Here’s everything you need to know so far.
Who is the BBC presenter?
The name of the BBC TV presenter accused of paying a teenager for sexual images has not been released despite his suspension.
The Sun has reported that he is a man, a presenter and a “household name”, sparking frenzied speculation on social media.
BBC presenters including Gary Lineker, Rylan Clark and Jeremy Vine have come out to deny it is them after false accusations on social media.
BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Nicky Campbell also spoke out against speculation it could be him, threatening to sue Twitter users who appeared to falsely accuse him.
What are the allegations?
The mystery BBC star allegedly paid a teenager more than £35,000 for sexually explicit photographs.
The arrangement is said to have begun in 2020 when the alleged victim was 17 years old.
The Sun reported that a series of payments are alleged to have been made, which the youth’s family claim fuelled their crack cocaine addiction.
The mother of the individual, now aged 20, claimed she had seen bank statements showing payments adding up to more than £35,000, including one sum of £5,000.
She told The Sun the presenter requested “performances” and she found an image on her child’s phone in which the presenter was “sitting on a sofa in his house in his underwear”.
The Sun published a further report on Sunday evening claiming that the presenter at the centre of the allegations made “panicked” calls to the young person last week.
The newspaper alleged that the presenter asked the alleged victim to ring their mother to get her to “stop the investigation”.
Are the police involved?
Police and BBC bosses met virtually on Monday following claims that the family of the youngster, now aged 20, first reported the allegations in May – more than seven weeks before the presenter was suspended.
A statement was released after the meeting saying the force is “assessing the information” but there is “no investigation” at present.
A spokesperson from the Metropolitan Police previously said the force had “initial contact” from the BBC but “no formal referral or allegation has been made”.
They added: “We will require additional information before determining what further action should follow.”
The BBC has said it had been investigating a complaint since May and that new allegations of a “different nature” were brought to it on Thursday.
The corporation has been in touch with the police as well as carrying out its own inquiries and talking to the young person’s family.
What has the response been?
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer spoke to BBC director-general Tim Davie on Sunday over the “deeply concerning” allegations, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has said.
Senior officials have said the allegations must be investigated “urgently and sensitively”, with the department kept updated.
The presenter was suspended by the BBC on Sunday, hours after Government minister Victoria Atkins called on the BBC to act “very swiftly”.
“These are very, very serious allegations and the BBC have said they have processes in place,” the financial secretary to the Treasury told Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme.
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves had told the programme: “When serious allegations are made like this I don’t think it is right that people stay in those jobs while those very serious investigations go on.”
The BBC has reported on the story, with special correspondent Lucy Manning saying: “I think this is very serious for the BBC, let’s make no bones about this.
“The BBC will need to answer if the investigation should have happened sooner, if it should have been more thorough, and if it’s fair to other presenters unconnected to this that their names are now sort of in the headlines.”
BBC staff are understood to have expressed concern to i, the presenter had been allowed to continue broadcasting while under investigation.
A Beeb staffer said after staff were informed of the complaint, some colleagues were “uncomfortable” when the individual continued to perform presenting duties.
What has the BBC said?
The Sun newspaper first reported on Saturday that a young person’s family complained about the behaviour of a BBC household name on 19 May – but he stayed on TV until recently.
A BBC spokesperson said: “The BBC takes any allegations seriously and we have robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations.
“This is a complex and fast-moving set of circumstances and the BBC is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps.
“It is important that these matters are handled fairly and with care.
“We have been clear that if – at any point – new information comes to light or is provided to us, this will be acted upon appropriately and actively followed up.
“The BBC first became aware of a complaint in May. New allegations were put to us on Thursday of a different nature and in addition to our own enquiries we have also been in touch with external authorities, in line with our protocols.
“We can also confirm a male member of staff has been suspended.
“We expect to be in a position to provide a further update in the coming days as the process continues. The BBC Board will continue to be kept up to date.”
In an internal email to staff, BBC director general Tim Davie said: “By law, individuals are entitled to a reasonable expectation of privacy, which is making this situation more complex. I also want to be very clear that I am wholly condemning the unsubstantiated rumours being made on the internet about some of our presenting talent.
“We are in contact with the family referenced in the media reports. I want to assure you that we are working rapidly to establish the facts and to ensure that these matters are handled fairly and with care, including by external authorities where appropriate.”
