July 7, 2023
Updated 27 minutes ago
According to The Sun, a BBC presenter has been accused of paying a teenager as young as 17 for sexually explicit photos.
The newspaper reported that the unnamed male presenter had paid the alleged victim tens of thousands of pounds.
The BBC is understood to be investigating the allegations and the star is currently not scheduled to air in the coming days.
The Sun said the young man’s family complained to the BBC on May 19.
Frustrated with the star staying on the air, the family reportedly contacted the newspaper but said they didn’t want payment for the story.
The mother told the newspaper that the anonymous individual, now 20, used the presenter’s money to fund a crack cocaine addiction.
She described to the newspaper how her child went from a “cheerful teenager to a ghostly crack addict” in three years.
Broadcaster Rylan Clark tweeted on Saturday that he was not the presenter in question, saying: “It’s not me baby” and adding that he was filming in Italy for a BBC show.
Separately, BBC Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine has also distanced himself from the Sun story, saying the allegations are not about him.
Match of the Day host Gary Linker didn’t specifically mention the allegations, but wrote on Twitter: “I hate disappointing the haters but that’s not me.”
The company said the information would be “acted upon appropriately.”
A BBC spokesman said: “We take all allegations very seriously and have processes in place to deal with them proactively.”
“If we receive information in the process that requires further investigation or investigation, we will take appropriate action. This includes actively trying to speak to those who have contacted us for more details and an understanding of the situation.”
“If we don’t get a response to our attempts or no further contact, it may limit our ability to move things forward, but that doesn’t mean our inquiries will stop.”
“If at any time new information comes to light or is transmitted – including via newspapers – it will be reacted to according to the internal processes.”
He tweeted: “Just to say I’m really looking forward to hosting my radio show on Monday – whoever the ‘BBC host’ is on the news, I have the same message for you as Rylan did before: This is it It most definitely isn’t.” Me.”
BBC culture editor Katie Razzall said many questions remained unanswered, including how the company had investigated the family’s complaint and whether it was appropriate for the presenter, who was not named, to step up after a serious allegation was made shipment would remain.
The BBC’s statement seemed to suggest that their initial investigation may have been hampered by the family’s lack of response, she said.
Should this claim be proven, the career of a high-profile BBC presenter would likely be over.