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The splash in a Uk newspaper showing a disheveled Huw Edwards, dubbing him a “Paedo” and that he “still hasn’t paid £200k salary back to BBC”, puts centre stage the corporation’s refusal to answer questions about how many programmes cannot now be broadcast after a string of scandals.
Edwards was found with dozens of pictures of children including one of a young child, possibly aged between seven and nine years old.
Apart from the Edwards affair, we have had controversies over Wynne Evans, Gregg Wallace, Jermaine Jenas, Jay Blades, bullying allegations from ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ star Amanda Abington, as well as relatively recent revelations concerning Jimmy Savile.
Despite this, the organisation’s Media Office (M0) has not answered The Eye’s queries about them sent before Christmas, even though they immediately followed the Wallace allegations.
The Sun has screamed today: “SHAMED Huw Edwards is seen puffing on a vape as he breaks cover for the first time since dodging jail over child abuse images”, and this terrible publicity will be seen by huge numbers of people.
As of June 2024 the paper had the highest average print readership, with over 1.9 million people having read or looked at an average issue of the publication, and this follows past difficulties for the giant corporation.
It has been reported that Evans is planning to take the BBC to a tribunal over the dismissal from his Radio Wales (RW) show and is also to contest his departure from the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ live tour.
Evans was forced to apologise soon afterwards, and declared that he had made an “inappropriate and unacceptable” remark during the tour launch at the start of January.
As with Evans, it was reported that Wallace was stepping back (although it may not have been entirely voluntary for Evans), but in this case it was from his role on MasterChef while accusations of historical misconduct were looked into.
An investigation by BBC News revealed that he is facing allegations of inappropriate sexual comments from 13 people who worked with him over a 17-year period. Wallace vigorously denies that his behaviour was ever inappropriate.
However BBC News has reported about the corporation soon afterwards: “It’s the last thing it needs, so soon after other high profile scandals including the disgraced BBC News presenter Huw Edwards. The BBC has questions to answer about the allegations over what it knew about Wallace’s behaviour on and off set, and – if it was alerted to these types of allegations – what it did about them. BBC News has been made aware of two occasions when complaints were made. One, by the radio host Aasmah Mir, related to Celebrity MasterChef in 2017.”
One Welsh former senior executive with the corporation told The Eye earlier: “The BBC is attempting to display decisiveness after the Huw Edwards & Savile scandals to help restore its public image. It’s cosmetic. On the Wallace incident it was said that we saw: “Another slap on the wrist from weak executives who’re afraid to sack talent & put ratings first. He’s finished and the Beeb managers who let him carry on should be fired”.
In the Amanda Abbington/Giovanni Pernice controversy on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ there were accusations of bullying as well as harassment.
The One Show and Match of the Day (MotD) presenter Jermaine Jenas business, once again involved allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’, with reports claiming, for example, that one female member of staff received unsolicited communications via text from him.
Supporting the comments by the former executive, the full extent of what Savile did has only emerged relatively recently.
But let us start with the information about Ms Abbington the BBC says it assessed and “upheld some, but not all” of her complaints about her time on Strictly, after she pulled out of the show and claimed later that there was a “toxic environment”, as well as that she had been subject to “inappropriate, mean, nasty bullying”.
In saying sorry, the huge corporation proclaimed: “We have assessed the complaints and we have upheld some, but not all, of the complaints made. We want to apologise to Amanda Abbington and to thank her for coming forward and taking part. We know this would not have been an easy thing to do”. It also said in the apology statement that the BBC expects “…very high standards…”, so critics are entitled to ask why they apparently do not exist in the MO, especially after the Evans affair.
Jenas, too, faced claims of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ and was sacked from the BBC over allegedly sending ‘unsolicited’ texts to junior members of staff. Reports have claimed that one female worker received unsolicited communications via text from him – they were supposedly ‘flirty’. Others then came forward according to The Sun. However, the source added there was “no suggestion of illegality” on Jenas’s part.
We should not forget the incredible Jay Blades episode. The Repair Shop star was accused of illegal acts in relation to his estranged wife, with the allegations including physical and emotional abuse, according to court documents. He appeared at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court and was bailed until another court appearance. West Mercia Police (WMP) said he was charged after they were called to an address last year, following an Instagram post by Lisa Zbozen. A repeat of David & Jay’s Touring Toolshed was removed and the BBC will not show any programmes in which he features. Last October he pleaded not guilty to engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour.
After everything that has happened, it seemed reasonable, therefore, to ask the BBC which programmes could not now be transmitted.
This is the (extremely polite) request our Editor, Welshman Phil Parry, put to their MO on December 19, and he was encouraged because on the BBC’s website they declare: “Enquiries from journalists will be responded to as quickly as possible”.
Hello.
I am Editor of a news website called The Eye.
Could you please answer the following questions:
1. In the light of the Gregg Wallace, and other affairs, what, if any, programmes are now not to be transmitted, and how many of them are there?
2. What, if any, changes have been made to your Whistleblowers’ Charter, and what are the dates of these?
3. What, if any, changes have been made to your safeguarding policies, and what are the dates of these?
Statements can be made by return to this address – it is checked constantly and is totally secure.
Thank you,
Phil Parry
To date, though, there has been no reply apart from two automated messages saying that the requests had been received.
Perhaps these sort of questions are too difficult to handle, especially after a man who read the nightly news on the BBC was pictured in a high-selling UK newspaper described as “SHAMED…”.
The memories of Phil’s, astonishing award-winning career in journalism (including some of the immediate responses from MOs) as he was gripped by the rare neurological disabling condition, Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), have been released in a major book ‘A GOOD STORY’. Order the book now!
