I liked seeing top BBC star on TV until my child showed me pictures of him on his sofa in his pants
THE BBC presenter at the centre of a sex-pictures scandal stripped to his underpants for a video call, the alleged victim’s mother claimed yesterday.
She said she saw him on the youth’s phone — “leaning forward, getting ready for my child to perform for him”.
The Sun’s bombshell claims that the presenter gave the teenager more than £35,000 dominated the BBC’s news coverage as bosses remained silent on the crisis.
Senior Tory MP Caroline Dinenage said: “The BBC clearly has some very serious questions to answer.”
The mother who claims a BBC star paid her child for sexual pictures told yesterday how she was stunned to see a phone image of the presenter in his boxer shorts.
She recalled: “I loved watching him on TV.
Read More on BBC
“So I was shocked to see a picture of him sitting on a sofa in his house in his underwear.
“I immediately recognised him.
“He was leaning forward getting ready for my child to perform for him.
“My child told me, ‘I have shown things’ and this was a picture from some kind of video call.”
Most read in The Sun
Since this story was published the star has now been suspended by the BBC while they launch an urgent investigation.
The star is off air but has not been suspended while claims are being investigated.
They include one that he gave the youngster more than £35,000 since they were 17 in return for sordid images.
According to the BBC’s website, staff accused of a serious breach of discipline can be “immediately suspended”.
But the presenter is believed to still being paid his full six-figure salary.
The allegations in yesterday’s Sun rocked the BBC.
Stars including Gary Lineker went online to deny it was them.
The story dominated BBC TV, radio and online news coverage.
And BBC journalists reported that the corporation faced questions over its handling of the crisis.
On Radio 4’s flagship Today programme, BBC culture and media editor Katie Razzall said: “It’s the front page of The Sun newspaper and the allegations are very serious.
“So clearly, there are questions swirling not just about the identity of the BBC individual, and of course, whether the claims are true, but also for the BBC in terms of what steps the corporation took after that complaint was made.”
In an interview with The Sun on Sunday, the mother said the family complained in May but became frustrated that the star was still on air a month later.
She said in June her child told her they had received a payment of £1,000 — allegedly transferred by PayPal.
She went on: “My child said they had run out of money and then suddenly had this cash.
“It’s obvious to me the BBC hadn’t spoken to this man between our complaint on May 19 and in June as they thought he was too important.
“We never wanted an investigation.
“We just wanted the BBC to tell him to stop.
“Initially the security boss gave us a number that didn’t exist.”
She added of the presenter: “Earlier this year I heard him on the phone saying to my child, ‘I told you not to f***ing ring me’.
“It was shocking as I’d see how he would act on the telly and then he would say stuff like that.”
Earlier the mother heartbreakingly told how the teenager, now 20, used the man’s alleged funds to feed a “spiralling” drug addiction.
'Ghost-like crack addict'
She said they had gone from a “happy-go-lucky youngster to a ghost-like crack addict” in three years.
The mum said: “We’ve always had a close relationship.
“My child would be like, ‘Oh, the presenter is giving me money later,’ or, ‘He’s giving me £500.’ and ‘I’m going out tonight because he’s given me money’.”
“I didn’t like what I was being told but I didn’t want my child to stop confiding in me.
“The presenter never hid his job.
“He even sent a picture of his desk at work to my child which I saw.”
The family finally approached The Sun, making it clear they wanted no payment.
The mother told The Sun on Sunday: “We just wanted the BBC to tell him to stop.
“I’ve had three years of hell.
“The impact of this has been terrifying.
“My child was always a great student but there’s been a radical change of behaviour.
“It’s heartbreaking.
“In my mind that man was supplying the crack.
“My child wouldn’t have access to this money if it wasn’t for him.
'Absolutely horrendous allegations'
“If it goes on then my child is going to wind up dead.
“Putting this out to the public is the only way to stop it.”
Her claims are included in a sworn affidavit she has provided to The Sun.
Last night the BBC said they were taking the allegations “very seriously” and that their probe was being led by the head of their corporate investigations team.
On Friday night the family spoke to investigations chief Jeff Brown, a former policeman, for half an hour and are set to hand over a dossier of evidence.
Last night Nazir Afzal, the former Chief Crown Prosecutor who led the prosecution in the Rochdale grooming gang cases, said that the presenter could potentially be charged with sexual exploitation under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
He added: “The police should have been engaged as soon as they worked out whether the complaint was genuine.
“Where are we now — the middle of July?
“Six, seven weeks on.
“They should have advised the police that this is a matter that they should be investigating, and that should have been done weeks ago.
“There’s no justification for the police not having become involved as early as possible.”
Meanwhile Tory MP Caroline Dinenage told The Sun on Sunday: “The BBC clearly has some very serious questions to answer.”
'Appalling abuse'
Former Home Secretary Priti Patel added: “The allegations, carried by The Sun, are absolutely horrendous.
“The BBC owes an explanation to the country who funded it and placed their trust in it.
“And the Corporation must cooperate with the police if they are contacted to investigate.”
The youngster’s mother added: “I am glad The Sun is taking action so that we can get a thorough investigation.”
Reporting on our story on last night’s BBC News at Ten, special correspondent Lucy Manning agreed that there were “very, very serious questions for the BBC about who knew what and when”.
8 questions the Beeb dodged
BELOW are the eight questions we put to the BBC yesterday.
The Beeb did not answer each one but instead referred us back to a general statement issued on Friday, including that it treats “any allegations very seriously”.
- WHAT did you do when the first complaint about the BBC star was received?
- HOW many attempts were made to contact the family about their complaint?
- DO you consider this a satisfactory response given their concerns that a child’s life was in danger?
- WAS the presenter spoken to after the initial complaint? — and if not, why not?
- WHEN was the first time the presenter was spoken to about the matter?
- WILL you take steps to establish if payments to the child continued after the family’s first point of contact with the BBC?
- ARE you investigating whether the presenter was calling the child from work/during working hours?
- IS the licence-payer paying for or contributing to the presenter’s mobile costs?
Rein in TV gods
THE BBC once again appears to be embroiled in a scandal involving one of their stars, writes Caroline Dinenage MP, the chairwoman of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.
Some of its biggest names are taking to Twitter to deny they’re the man at the centre of these allegations.
Last month my committee spoke to ITV bosses about their workplace culture in the wake of Phillip Schofield’s departure from This Morning.
It’s vital TV companies have processes to ensure these “gods of broadcasting” don’t abuse their disproportionate influence over the careers of others.
ITV launched a KC-led independent review.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Now the BBC clearly has some very serious questions to answer.
There is enormous pressure on their HR department to investigate these latest claims quickly — and explain what’s happened since they were first raised back in May.
