The BBC’s nightmare year from Strictly scandal to Gregg Wallace allegations

The BBC person been experiencing rather the annus horribilis.

Over the past 12 months, the broadcaster has been astatine the centre of scandals, with immoderate of their high-profile antheral stars facing allegations astir their behaviour and convictions being made.

The astir caller debacle has travel arsenic former MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace has been accused of making inappropriate intersexual comments by 13 people, including Former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark. Production institution Banijay person launched a ‘thorough’ investigation, and helium volition nary longer contiguous the long-running cooking amusement portion the probe is underway.

A BBC spokesperson has told the PA quality agency: ‘We instrumentality immoderate issues that are raised with america earnestly and we person robust processes successful spot to woody with them.

‘We are ever wide that immoderate behaviour which falls beneath the standards expected by the BBC volition not beryllium tolerated.

‘Where an idiosyncratic is contracted straight by an outer accumulation institution we stock immoderate complaints oregon concerns with that institution and we volition ever enactment them erstwhile addressing them.’

Wallace’s lawyers person claimed it is ‘entirely false’ helium engages successful a ‘behaviour of a sexually harassing nature’.

Wallace’s exit is conscionable 1 of the catastrophic incidents during BBC’s twelvemonth of hell.

Strictly scandal

Strictly Come Dancing was engulfed successful ungraded following allegations against Giovanni Pernice, 34, by his erstwhile creation partner Amanda Abbington, who discontinue Strictly past twelvemonth aft 5 weeks.

The Sherlock actress, 50, made claims Pernice had bullied her during rehearsals, which helium denied.

After months of investigating, the BBC yet shared their results successful September. They upheld 2 moments of ‘inappropriate behaviour of intersexual banter successful the workplace’ and recovered that Pernice had utilized ‘swear words’ and ‘belittling’ language while the duo were paired together.

Following the conclusion, BBC issued an apology to Abbington.

Fellow nonrecreational dancer Graziano Di Prima, 30, near the BBC series following claims of ‘physical incidents’, including allegations helium ‘kicked and hit’ Zara McDermott.

Di Prima said successful a connection that helium ‘apologised astatine the time’ and knew helium had ‘made a mistake’. He later claimed his ft ‘brushed’ McDermott after helium ‘kicked the level successful frustration’ owed to the ‘pressure of the show.’

He told the Daily Mail: ‘I’m not a monster. I’m not an abusive man.

‘The lone happening I tin deliberation of is the clip I kicked the level successful frustration. We’d practised hr aft hr to cleanable a regular with lifts. It wasn’t casual but that’s the unit of the show,’ told the Daily Mail.

‘I wasn’t meaning to footwear her. I’d never, ne'er bash that. My ft brushed her aft I kicked the floor.’

A person of Di Prima told Metro: ‘Graziano isn’t making excuses for his behaviour. He’s a bully man, who’s done thing wrong. He’s apologised and wants to determination connected with his life.’

‘So overmuch of my Strictly acquisition was everything I could person dreamt of. The full accumulation squad and everyone down the scenes arsenic good arsenic my chap contestants were truthful astonishing to enactment with,’ Zara, 27, wrote connected Instagram astatine the time.

‘However, my acquisition wrong the grooming country was precise different. Reports person been made astir my attraction connected the amusement and determination were witnesses to immoderate events, arsenic good arsenic videos of peculiar incidents which are incredibly distressing to watch.’

Jermaine Jenas

In August, Jenas, 41, was deed with multiple accusations of ‘inappropriate’ behaviours successful caller months, including ‘sexting’ 2 coworkers and sexually pursuing a woman who reportedly told him she had a boyfriend. 

The look of The One Show and a Match of the Day regular was taken disconnected aerial and sacked by the BBC.

Jenas told The Sun: ‘I did thing amerciable – these were inappropriate messages betwixt 2 consenting adults.

‘I americium ashamed, and I americium profoundly sorry.’

Huw Edwards

In September, News presenter Huw Edwards was handed a six-month jailhouse condemnation suspended for 2 years after admitting 3 charges of making indecent images of children.

He pleaded blameworthy astatine Westminster Magistrates’ Court after convicted paedophile Alex Williams sent him amerciable images on WhatsApp.

He volition beryllium required to implicit a enactment offender programme, and volition beryllium placed connected the enactment offenders registry for 7 years.

Following his sentencing, which drew disapproval from the public, the BBC issued a statement, saying: ‘We are appalled by his crimes.

‘He has betrayed not conscionable the BBC, but audiences who enactment their spot successful him.’

The BBC admitted it was informed that the 63-year-old had been arrested successful November 2023 but continued to employment him for astir 5 months until helium near connected aesculapian advice.

Edwards has present been asked to repay the £200,000 wage helium has received since his arrest. BBC director-general Tim Davie said the wealth should beryllium returned and that the corp volition ‘explore’ the ineligible process if Edwards refuses.

Prior to his resignation, Edwards was 1 of BBC’s highest-paid stars and was the idiosyncratic to interruption the quality of the Queen’s death.

He stepped down from his relation successful 2023. His woman Vicky Flind past released a connection past twelvemonth naming Edwards arsenic the BBC presenter who had paid thousands of pounds to a young idiosyncratic for sexually explicit images, before the information of his behaviour came to light. She has present reportedly filed for divorce.

Jay Blades

Jay Blades is presently embroiled successful a tribunal case. He has pleaded not blameworthy to engaging in charges of controlling oregon coercive behaviour towards his wife Lisa-Marie Zbozen.

The complaint against Blades alleges his behaviour had a superior effect’ connected his partner, ‘namely that it caused her to fearfulness connected astatine slightest 2 occasions that unit would beryllium utilized against her’. According to tribunal documents, his alleged behaviour included carnal and affectional abuse. The lawsuit has a imaginable proceedings day of May 6 adjacent year.

Amid his tribunal dealings, the aboriginal of BBC TV programme The Repair Shop, which helium has been a portion of ever since it launched successful 2017, has been called into question.

The broadcaster confirmed to Metro that Jay, 57, is not presently filming the programme, and the steadfast is presently not going to beryllium scheduling immoderate programmes successful which helium is featured, but contented that already features Blades volition stay connected BBC iPlayer.

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