BBC suspends male presenter following allegations they paid teen for sexually explicit photos

A BBC presenter who is at the centre of sex-pictures controversy with a teenager, has been suspended pending investigations, the BBC has confirmed. In a statement, the corporation said the male member of staff, who remains unidentified, has been suspended as it looks into the allegations.

On Friday night (July 8), a national newspaper revealed a ‘household name’ BBC host was reportedly being investigated and has been ‘taken off air’ after allegedly paying more than £35,000 to a teenager in return for sexually explicit images.

Following the allegations, the public service broadcaster has now released a statement detailing their investigation so far:

A spokesperson for the BBC said: “The BBC takes any allegations seriously and we have robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations. This is a complex and fast moving set of circumstances and the BBC is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps.

“It is important that these matters are handled fairly and with care. We have been clear that if - at any point - new information comes to light or is provided to us, this will be acted upon appropriately and actively followed up.

“The BBC first became aware of a complaint in May. New allegations were put to us on Thursday of a different nature and in addition to our own enquiries we have also been in touch with external authorities, in line with our protocols.

“We can also confirm a male member of staff has been suspended. We expect to be in a position to provide a further update in the coming days as the process continues. The BBC Board will continue to be kept up to date.”

According to the initial report, the payments began when the teen was 17 years old. The teen’s mother said her child had used the cash to fund a drug addiction. She told the newspaper: “When I see him on telly, I feel sick. I blame this BBC man for destroying my child’s life.

“Taking my child’s innocence and handing over the money for crack cocaine that could kill my child.” The family also reportedly complained to the BBC about his behaviour on May 19 and begged them to make the man “stop sending the cash”.

She also told the newspaper how her child, now 20, had shown her an online bank statement that had “numerous deposits” from the TV star. She said: “There were huge sums, hundreds or thousands of pounds at a time. One time, he had sent £5,000 in one lump. The money had been in exchange for sexually explicit photographs of my child.”

On Saturday night (July 9), the newspaper published another report pertaining to the host in question, claiming that he had ‘stripped to his underwear’ in a video call with the teenager.

It has been reported that the family first complained to the BBC on May 19. However, they became ‘frustrated’ that the star remained on air and approached the newspaper, but said they wanted no payment for the story.

The accusations against the host have since rocked the BBC, with politicians coming together to condemn the behaviour and call for a transparent investigation.

A number of BBC presenters have taken to social media to deny they are the star in question. They include Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two star Rylan Clark, BBC Radio 2 host, Jeremy Vine, BBC sports broadcaster Gary Lineker and BBC Radio 5 Live host, Nicky Campbell.