The scandals involving high-profile stars that have rocked the BBC

2023-07-13

Jimmy Savile, Martin Bashir’s Panorama interview and the police raid on Cliff Richard’s home: The scandals involving high-profile stars that have rocked the BBC

The BBC has been hit by several scandals involving high-profile stars over the years.

The broadcaster’s reputation has been rocked by a series of wrongdoings which have raised questions about its culture and practices, including allegations of sexual abuse and fraud.

Some date back decades but there have also been a number of allegations against some of the corporation’s biggest names in more recent times.

In the last week, an unnamed presenter has been at the heart of a furore amid claims he paid a teenager for sexually explicit photographs.

Here, we take a look at some of the biggest scandals to shake the BBC since its inception.

The BBC has been hit by several scandals involving high-profile stars over the years

Jimmy Savile

The disgraced entertainer was one of the biggest stars in television, working for much of his career at the BBC on programmes like Top Of The Pops and Jim’ll Fix It.

In October 2012, a year after his death aged 84, an ITV documentary called The Other Side Of Jimmy Savile broke the story of the sexual abuse scandal.

The full extent of Savile’s crimes was revealed in Operation Yewtree’s report in 2013, which recorded 214 criminal offences committed by the star.

A 2016 report into his abuse found staff at the BBC missed numerous opportunities to stop Savile, who is believed to be one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders.

The disgraced entertainer was one of the biggest stars in television, working for much of his career at the BBC on programmes like Top Of The Pops and Jim’ll Fix It

Martin Bashir

A 1995 Panorama interview with Diana, Princess of Wales, conducted by BBC journalist Bashir made global headlines as she spoke openly about her marriage to the King, who was then the Prince of Wales.

She famously told Bashir: ‘There were three of us in this marriage so it was a bit crowded.’

In 2021, a report by Lord Dyson concluded that the BBC covered up ‘deceitful behaviour’ by Bashir to secure the bombshell interview and led to a call from the Duke of Cambridge for it to never be aired again.

Bashir was in ‘serious breach’ of the BBC’s producer guidelines when he faked bank statements and showed them to Earl Spencer, Diana’s brother, to gain access to Diana in 1995, the report said.

The BBC wrote to the royal family to apologise for the circumstances surrounding the Panorama interview and director-general Tim Davie said the BBC will ‘never show the programme again nor will we license it in whole or part to other broadcasters’.

A 1995 Panorama interview with Diana, Princess of Wales, conducted by then-BBC journalist Bashir made global headlines as she spoke openly about her marriage to the King, who was then the prince of Wales

Rolf Harris

The former beloved entertainer, who died this year aged 93, experienced a fall from grace after he was jailed for his crimes.

Harris was 84 when a jury unanimously found him guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault involving victims as young as seven or eight in July 2014 and he was sentenced to five years and nine months.

A former favourite of the royal family – the late queen once posed for him to paint her portrait – he charmed millions for more than half a century with his wobble-board invention and didgeridoo, TV series involving sick animals and ability to paint a full canvas in an astonishingly short time.

From 1994 to 2004 he hosted the award-winning BBC programme Animal Hospital, chronicling the real-life activity of a British veterinary practice.

Later he presented the BBC’s Rolf On Art, highlighting the work of some of his favourite artists, and made history by gaining the highest TV ratings for an arts programme.

Harris was 84 when a jury unanimously found him guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault involving victims as young as seven or eight in July 2014 and he was sentenced to five years and nine months

Sir Cliff Richard

In August 2014, the veteran entertainer’s Berkshire home was searched by police following a claim of historical sexual assault.

The 82-year-old denied the allegations, he was never arrested and in June 2016 prosecutors said he would face no charges.

Sir Cliff later successfully sued the BBC for its coverage, which was broadcast around the world, of the South Yorkshire Police raid on his home in Sunningdale.

The singer received around £2 million towards his legal costs from the BBC and was awarded £210,000 in damages in 2018.

Judge Mr Justice Mann ruled in Sir Cliff’s favour following a High Court trial in London, concluding the BBC’s coverage was a ‘very serious’ invasion of the singer’s privacy.

After Sir Cliff’s case, there was a big change to the way the media approached reporting, meaning it is more difficult for the media to name people before they are charged with a criminal offence.

Sir Cliff Richard, pictured at Wimbledon yesterday, successfully sued the BBC for its coverage, which was broadcast around the world, of the South Yorkshire Police raid on his home in Sunningdale

Tim Westwood

The veteran hip hop DJ and radio presenter, who left BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra in 2013 after nearly 20 years, was accused of sexual misconduct and predatory behaviour by several women in April last year.

Westwood was interviewed under caution by the Metropolitan Police in March and April this year in relation to five sexual offences alleged to have taken place between 1982 and 2016.

An independent inquiry, led by barrister Gemma White KC, launched a 24-hour hotline in April as part of the BBC inquiry into what the corporation knew about allegations of sexual misconduct against Westwood.

Ms White was appointed by the BBC Board last August after an internal review found that the corporation should have further explored a string of sexual assault allegations against the former hip hop DJ.

Westwood strongly denies the allegations.

Chris Denning

In 2016, the disgraced BBC Radio 1 DJ pleaded guilty to 21 historical child sex offences as part of a police investigation into the Walton Hop Disco in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey.

The prolific paedophile admitted abusing 11 children, some as young as eight, between 1969 and 1986 before being sentenced to 13 years in prison.

It came while he was already serving a 13-year jail sentence for a catalogue of sexual assaults against 24 victims, including one allegedly at Savile’s house, from the 1960s to 1980s.

Denning was one of the founding presenters of the BBC’s flagship radio station.

In 2016, the disgraced BBC Radio 1 DJ pleaded guilty to 21 historical child sex offences as part of a police investigation into the Walton Hop Disco in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey

BBC reveals its timeline for how the sex pictures scandal unfolded

May 18

The complainant (a family member) attended a BBC building, where they sought to make a complaint about the behaviour of a BBC presenter.

May 19

The complainant contacted BBC Audience Services; the details of this contact were referred to the BBC’s Corporate Investigations Team.
The BBC’s Corporate Investigations Team assessed the information contained in the complaint provided from Audience Services. The assessment made was that on the basis of the information provided it did not include an allegation of criminality, but nonetheless merited further investigation.
The BBC’s Corporate Investigations Team emailed the complainant stating how seriously the BBC takes the issue and seeking additional information to verify the claims being made; there was no response to this contact.
Checks were also made to verify the identity of the complainant. This is a standard procedure to confirm that the complainant is the person they say they are.

June 6

Having received no response to the email referenced above, a phone call was made to the mobile number provided by the complainant to the BBC’s Corporate Investigations Team; this call did not connect.
Following these attempts to make contact with the complainant, the Corporate Investigations Team were due to return to the matter in the coming weeks. No additional attempts to contact the complainant were made after June 6, however the case remained open throughout.

July 6

The Sun newspaper informed the BBC via the Corporate Press Office of allegations concerning a BBC presenter; it became clear that the source of the claims was from the same family as approached the BBC on 18 and 19 May. This was the first time that the Director-General or any executive directors at the BBC were aware of the case.
The claims made by The Sun contained new allegations that were different to the matters being considered by BBC Corporate Investigations.
The BBC initiated an incident management group to lead the response to this case, involving senior BBC executives including the Director-General. The Acting Chairman was updated, and the Board was regularly updated in the coming days.
A senior manager held the first conversation on this matter with the presenter concerned, to make him aware of the claims being outlined by The Sun. It was agreed that the presenter would not be on air while this matter was being considered.

July 7

Following The Sun’s contact, the BBC’s Corporate Investigations team contacted the complainant again, who was in touch with the BBC’s investigators.
The BBC’s Serious Case Management Framework (SCMF) was initiated and the investigation being undertaken by the Corporate Investigations Team was brought into the SCMF, which is chaired by a Human Resources Director.
The BBC also made contact with the Police with regard to this matter.

July 8

The complainant sent the BBC some materials related to the complaint.

July 9

BBC issued an update to staff and the media and also confirmed that it had suspended the presenter.

July 10

The BBC met with the Police to report the matter and discuss how to progress the investigation.
The Police have requested that the BBC pause its investigations into the allegations while they scope future work.

July 11

Tim Davie insists he still hasn’t met with the star in question and defended the fact it took bosses seven weeks after complaint to first question him.
A bombshell second claim emerged when the same presenter was accused of sending abusive and menacing messages to a person in their 20s.
Just hours later, the star was then branded a ‘complete hypocrite’ for allegedly breaking Covid rules to meet a 23-year-old stranger from a dating site.
Fresh then claims emerged from a fourth young person who says the star sent them ‘creepy’ Instagram messages including heart emojis and kisses when they were 17.

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