BBC star off air after being accused of paying young person for explicit pictures

A household name in the UK accused of paying a young person thousands of pounds for sexually explicit pictures is facing shock new allegations.

British broadcasting giant the BBC is facing increased pressure after fresh claims emerged about one of its top star presenters who has been facing allegations over payments for sexually explicit photos.

It has now been reported a 23-year-old person has claimed the BBC presenter - who is a household name - broke lockdown rules to secretly meet them during the pandemic in February 2021.

Separately, BBC News reported a person in their early 20s has also come forward to allege that they were sent threatening messages by the unnamed man after meeting on a dating app and told to keep the tryst a secret.

The BBC claimed that young person felt “threatened” by the messages and “remains scared”.

The reports are separate to the young person who The Sun claimed on Tuesday was paid around £35,000 ($68,000) over three years, from the age of 17, for sexually explicit images by the presenter, who has now been suspended by the BBC.

Last week, the Sun newspaper published allegations that a BBC presenter had paid tens of thousands of pounds to a teenager in exchange for explicit photos. Picture: Getty

Top broadcast star Jeremy Vine, who has publicly stated he is not the presenter in question, said on Twitter the unnamed man “should now come forward publicly” because the new allegations “will result in yet more vitriol being thrown at perfectly innocent colleagues”.

Vine was one of several celebrities, including Nicky Campbell, Gary Lineker and Rylan Clark, who have publicly stated that they were not the presenter in question.

Talk TV host Piers Morgan said it was only a matter of time before he the unnamed presenter is named and he should come forward.

“For the good of his colleagues, the BBC, and himself and his reputation, it is surely time for that presenter to reveal his own identity, and to vow to clear his name and defend himself if that’s what he can do.”

Before the fresh claims, director-general of the BBC Tim Davie ordered a review to assess how some complaints are red flagged and said the network was dealing with a “complex and difficult situation” after the “serious allegations”.

Text messages between the two unnamed people as reported by UK’s The Sun.

The Sun’s new report claims messages seen by the paper suggest the presenter travelled from London to a different county to meet the 23-year-old at their flat in February 2021, when strict coronavirus lockdown rules were in place including a stay at home order and mixing only between household bubbles.

The young person, who also claims to have met the presenter on a dating website, said the man also gave them more than £600 ($1200) in three payments.

“The BBC were briefing the nation on the rules – when their star who was part of the institution was quite happy to break them,” he told The Sun

The young person at the centre of the explicit image controversy said on Monday via a lawyer that nothing inappropriate or unlawful happened with the unnamed presenter, according to the BBC which said it had received a letter from “a multinational law firm”.

The broadcaster has said that a male presenter has been suspended while it conducts an investigation. Picture: Getty

This was contrary to the youth’s mother told The Sun and affirmed she stood by the claims she made about the abuse of her then 17-year-old and as she had now reported to police.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed it was now investigating.

David Keighley, former high profile BBC news producer and director of News-watch, said the presenter’s continuing anonymity was causing “reputational damage” to the man’s colleagues.

“What needs to be done here is a very thorough investigation, and conclusions can’t be jumped to until we know the full facts,” he said.

“But at the same time, you’ve got a developing situation, which is because it has been contained in the way it has. And we stress again, we don’t know precisely why that is.

“It is causing reputational damage, not just to the BBC itself, but to other presenters. It’s spreading like cancer, is the problem.”