BBC is in the limelight again as a controversy has come up regarding an anchor exploiting a teenager for nudes. Here's what happened.
BBC seems to be in the focal point of many a scandal of late. From the Phillip Schofield scandal to a newer and more dangerous one that surfaced lately, the media channel and its presenters are neck-deep in controversy.
This time around, it involves a certain male presenter and his rumoured unhealthy relationship with teenagers. Here’s what happened.
Mystery presenter who exploited a teenager
A huge scandal blew up recently, with a popular male BBC presenter at the forefront of it. A certain BBC news anchor has been accused of paying a teenager massive amounts of money, $45,000 to be precise in exchange for nudes. Not only was this presenter allegedly exploiting a teenager, but the money was also funding the teenager’s drug addiction. The said teenager allegedly had a ‘cocaine and crack problem’.
As per The Sun, in the wake of this controversy, the news anchor in question reportedly made two “panicked” calls to the young person after the story broke last on Sunday. The mystery presenter is said to be a common household name, and called the teenager to ask “What have you done?”.
After this, the presented allegedly asked the exploited teenager to urge their mother to stop any further investigation.
Who is this mystery presenter?
While the name of this BBC anchor remains undisclosed officially, there are reports that it is allegedly Huw Edwards. It is to be noted that in the past BBC hasn’t done a very good job of dealing with child abuse-related cases, especially with cases of Jimmy Savile, Stuart Hall, and Rolf Harris. A report by The Sun described this person as being on a six-figure salary, with Gary taking home a wage between £1,350,000 and £1,354,999.
The mother of the alleged victim said that the presenter started exchanging messages with her daughter when she was just 17. And as per First Post, the mother claimed to have seen evidence of video calls between the presenter and her daughter, where the TV star was seen in his underwear at his home. Following this, she reported it to BBC earlier this year, in May, and they ‘sacked’ the presenter last week. The mother of the victim said the following in conversation with The Sun:
“I used to enjoy watching him on TV, so it was shocking to see a picture of him sitting on a sofa in his house in his underwear. I recognized him immediately.”
BBC presenter’s take on the issue
Many BBC anchors and stars have gone ahead and denied being this presenter in question. They have made it clear that they are simply not the person behind the alleged sex scandal. Some stars have come out and distanced themselves from this notorious scandal, and cleared their names. Rylan Clark came out and announced on Twitter that he isn’t the one who partook in this, and that is in Italy shooting for BBC.
Soon after this came out, Jeremy Vine also took to Twitter to deny his role in these allegations. He said:
"Just to say I'm very much looking forward to hosting my radio show on Monday - whoever the 'BBC Presenter' in the news is, I have the same message for you as Rylan did earlier: it certainly ain't me."
Then, soon after this, the host of Match Of The Day, Gary Lineker, also spoke out in an attempt to clear his name in a Tweet that read ‘Hate to disappoint the haters but it's not me’. As per The Mirror, various BBC presenters, such as Jon Kay, Nicky Campbell, and Nihal Arthanayake, took to their social media to clear their name from this controversy, by detaching themselves from the scandal.
Read more:
⋙ This Morning faces axe from TV screens after 'toxic' scandal with Phillip Schofield
⋙ Phillip Schofield: This is why he is being called a 'monster' by This Morning expert
⋙ Alexander Armstrong is famous for his BBC show Pointless, here's what we know about his wife
⋙ Naga Munchetty: BBC star reveals 'crippling' condition that causes her extreme pain
