BBC presenter accused of paying teen for sexually explicit photos ‘tried to stop investigation after story broke’

The BBC presenter who is alleged to have paid a 17-year-old tens of thousands of pounds for sexually explicit images reportedly made two “panicked” calls to the young person after the story broke last week.

In new allegations published in The Sun, the male presenter – who has not been named but is said to be a “household name” – called the young person to ask “what have you done?”.

He then allegedly asked the young person to speak to his mother and urge her to stop the investigation, the paper added.

The mother of the now-20-year-old also claimed she was “upset” by the wording of a BBC statement, and that no one from the broadcaster initially got in touch with her when she raised a complaint in May.

The presenter, who was suspended by the BBC on Sunday, reportedly paid £35,000 for the photographs – the money of which, the mother has claimed, has been spent on a drug habit.

He allegedly first requested images from the youngster in 2020 when they were aged 17 and has made a series of payments over the years, according to The Sun.

The youngster’s mother told The Sun she saw a picture of the presenter on her child’s phone “sitting on a sofa in his house in his underwear”.

The mother said she was told it was “a picture from some kind of video call” and looked like he was “getting ready for my child to perform for him”.

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In a statement, the broadcaster said it “takes any allegations seriously” and has “robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations”.

The BBC said that while it first became aware of a complaint in May, “new allegations” of a “different nature” were put to it on Thursday, adding it had been “in touch with external authorities, in line with our protocols”.

A Met Police spokesperson confirmed it had been contacted by the BBC but said “no formal referral or allegation has been made”.

BBC taking allegations ‘incredibly seriously’

In an email to staff on Sunday, director-general Tim Davie said the BBC was taking the allegations “incredibly seriously”.

He added: “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.”

The corporation said it expected to be able to provide a further update in the “coming days”.

On Sunday, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said the BBC was acting “swiftly and sensitively”.

She had spoken to Mr Davie on the phone and tweeted: “Given the nature of the allegations it is important that the BBC is now given the space to conduct its investigation, establish the facts and take appropriate action.”