Top BBC presenter ‘stripped to underwear in video call with teen he paid for explicit pictures’

Presenter said to have been taken off air in response to the claims

A top BBC presenter accused of paying a teenager thousands of pounds for explicit pictures stripped to his underwear while on a video call, the mother of the alleged victim has claimed.

It is alleged that the TV star paid more than £35,000 in exchange for sexual images and that the teenager used the money to fund a cocaine addiction, which “destroyed” their life.

The mother described how her child, who was said to be 17 when the payments began, turned from a “happy-go-lucky youngster” to a “ghost-like crack addict” in three years.

Neither the presenter nor the teenager has been identified. The presenter has reportedly been taken off air over the claims.

The mother, who said she wanted no payment for the story, complained to the BBC in May and begged them to make the presenter “stop sending the cash”, according to The Sun.

She has now told the newspaper that the presenter stripped to his underwear during a video call, saying: “I loved watching him on TV. 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.”

In response to The Sun’s report, the BBC said it takes “any allegations very seriously and we have processes in place to proactively deal with them”.

The teenager’s family is said to have complained to the BBC on 19 May.

The mother said in June that her child – now aged 20 – told her they had been sent a £1,000 payment on PayPal, according to the newspaper.

She added: “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.

“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.”

On Saturday, amid speculation on social media, a number of BBC stars tweeted to say they were not the presenter at the centre of The Sun story.

TV presenter Rylan Clark tweeted: “Not sure why my names floating about but re that story in the sun – that ain’t me babe.

“I’m currently filming a show in Italy for the bbc, so take my name out ya mouths.”

Jeremy Vine followed suit, tweeting shortly after: “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.”

While Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker did not specifically mention the allegations, he tweeted: “Hate to disappoint the haters but it’s not me.”

Broadcaster Nicky Campbell appeared to suggest he had contacted police about being mentioned in connection with the story.

He tweeted a screenshot that featured the Metropolitan Police logo and the words: “Thank you for contacting the Metropolitan Police Service to report your crime.”

In his tweet, he wrote: “I think it’s important to take a stand. There’s just too many of these people on social media. Thanks for your support friends.”

The BBC reported on the story in its news bulletins throughout Saturday.

On a BBC news show, special correspondent Lucy Manning said: “I think this is very serious for the BBC, let’s make no bones about this.

“The understanding is the presenter isn’t due on air in the near future, but we haven’t been told, and we have asked – we haven’t been told by the BBC whether there has or hasn’t been a formal suspension.

“The BBC will need to answer if the investigation should have happened sooner, if it should have been more thorough, and if it’s fair to other presenters unconnected to this that their names are now sort of in the headlines.”

Ms Manning said she thinks this “really does have the potential to severely dent the BBC’s reputation”.

In response to The Sun’s report, a BBC spokesperson said: “We treat any allegations very seriously and we have processes in place to proactively deal with them.

“As part of that, if we receive information that requires further investigation or examination we will take steps to do this. That includes actively attempting to speak to those who have contacted us in order to seek further detail and understanding of the situation.

“If we get no reply to our attempts or receive no further contact, that can limit our ability to progress things, but it does not mean our enquiries stop. If, at any point, new information comes to light or is provided – including via newspapers – this will be acted upon appropriately, in line with internal processes.”