BBC in Crisis! Scandals, Firings, and Accusations Rock the Corporation

Scott Mills, a veteran broadcaster at the BBC, was abruptly removed from his role as Radio 2 host after 25 years at the organization. The decision followed a complaint regarding a police investigation into alleged serious sexual offenses against a boy under 16. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that in December 2016, an investigation began following a referral from another police force.

The investigation related to allegations of serious sexual offenses against a teenage boy, but the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges, and the case was closed in May 2019.

A man in his 40s was questioned under caution in July 2018. The allegations, which did not result in any charges, were reported to have taken place between 1997 and 2000. Mills has yet to publicly respond to the circumstances surrounding his exit from the national broadcaster.

Director-general Tim Davie stepped down following accusations that the BBC doctored Donald Trump’s speech in a Panorama documentary. Featured in the Panorama episode ‘Trump: A Second Chance’, a clip of Trump’s speech appeared to show him telling supporters he was going to walk to the Capitol with them to ‘fight like hell,’ although the quotes were made in a different part of the speech, 50 minutes apart.

The issue began to unravel after a memo, sent to the BBC editorial standards committee, raised concerns over the way Trump’s speech on January 6 during the Capitol riots was edited. The Panorama episode came out just a week before the US elections last year.

Critics have accused the Panorama video of being misleading as the clip did not include Trump’s words that he wanted to supporters at the Capitol to protest peacefully. The US president accused the BBC and its bosses of trying to ‘step on the scales of a presidential election.’ Joining Davie in bowing out was also the CEO of news, Deborah Turness. Since then, Trump has sent a letter to the BBC with a threat of legal action.

MasterChef first faced trouble in October 2024 when the first misconduct allegations against Gregg Wallace emerged, including accusations of ‘inappropriate sexual comments’. Several high-profile names who worked alongside him during his career spoke up, such as Kirsty Wark, with a total of 13 people raising concerns over 17 years. Wallace was suspended from the show pending an external investigation commissioned by the production company Banijay.

The investigation lasted several months, during which the food show host expressed that the toll of the situation had driven him to consider taking his own life. Meanwhile, Wallace was replaced by Grace Dent in the Celebrity spin-off alongside Torode.

In July, the bombshell Silkins review confirmed that 45 out of 83 allegations against Wallace had been upheld, including an instance of ‘unwanted physical contact’ leading to Wallace threatening legal action against the BBC. After Wallace was officially removed, a substantiated racial language allegation against Torode also led to his removal, with it later being revealed that he had used the N-word twice. The BBC decided to air the pre-filmed MasterChef season featuring both sacked presenters, saying it was ‘the right thing to do’ for the amateur contestants.

The flagship BBC dance competition series, Strictly Come Dancing, has faced plenty of troubles over the past two years. Issues started arising after 2023 contestant Amanda Abbington, who was partnered with pro Giovanni Pernice, quit Strictly shortly into her time on the show. After months of rumours accusing Pernice of toxic behaviour in his teaching on the show – which the dancer denied – he was removed from the lineup.

In July 2024, Abbington accused Pernice of ‘unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean’ behaviour and creating a ‘toxic environment’ which prompted the BBC to launch a probe.

The review concluded there were no findings relating to physical aggression, but six complaints of verbal bullying and harassment were upheld against him. The same month, it was revealed that fellow pro Graziano Di Prima had departed from Strictly after allegations he was ‘physically and verbally abusive’ towards his former dance partner, Zara McDermott. Both dancers have now been replaced for the upcoming season. Meanwhile, Strictly star Wynne Evans became embroiled in his own scandal after he was axed from the Strictly Live Tour after comments made towards married tour host Janette Manrara, insinuating a ‘spit roast’.

The Repair Shop host Jay Blades had been with the show since its launch in 2017 and eventually took a step back in May 2024 shortly after his split from his wife, Lisa Zbozen. In September, he was charged with controlling and coercive behaviour towards Zbozen and entered a not guilty plea at Worcester Crown Court a month later. Earlier this month, it was separately confirmed by police that he had been charged with two counts of rape and is due to appear at Telford magistrates’ court on August 13.

A day later, the 55-year-old once more appeared in Worcester Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on a charge of controlling or coercive behaviour.

The BBC previously confirmed to Metro that Blades is not currently filming The Repair Shop, and the BBC is currently not going to be scheduling any programmes in which he is featured, but content that already features Blades will remain on BBC iPlayer.

Last year, The One Show host Jermaine Jenas was dismissed with immediate effect after complaints of explicit texts sent to colleagues emerged. The 42-year-old presenter was married to Ellie Penfold, with whom he shares four children, at the time, although the couple confirmed their split in May. After the complaints came out, he admitted to sending these messages to two ‘consenting’ BBC co-workers but said there were ‘two sides to every story’ and he was going to seek legal action.

In a recent interview, he called it 'sexting' but reiterated there was 'no power element to it going on' – adding that he was going through a rough patch with his wife. 'I dealt with it wrong and got heavily punished for it by losing pretty much everything that I had at that time,' he said.

In July 2023, Huw Edwards was suspended from the BBC after a series of allegations against him, and he resigned from the job in April 2024, months after he was arrested. After ongoing speculation over what Edwards had been accused of, in September, he was handed a six-month jail sentence suspended for two years after admitting to three charges of making indecent images of children.

He issued a guilty plea at Westminster Magistrates’ Court after convicted paedophile Alex Williams sent him illegal images on WhatsApp. As well as completing a sex offender programme he has now been placed on the registry for seven years, which means he has to notify police of his whereabouts. In May, BBC Chairman Samir Shah issued a personal plea to Edwards to return the £200,000 to the broadcaster, which he received after his arrest.

BBC Breakfast has come under scrutiny in recent months after a spate of bullying allegations. This week, it has been reported that long-term presenter Charlie Stayt is ‘under review’ by the broadcaster after a number of complaints were said to be made against him. The culture at the flagship morning show is understood to be under review by an HR adviser from consultancy firm PwC after bullying allegations were levelled against co-host Naga Munchetty earlier this year.

Editor of BBC Breakfast, Richard Frediani was also subject to similar claims and took an extended period of leave from which he has now returned after an external investigation. Deadline reported that a minimum of two misconduct complaints had been made against Frediani, with one alleging that the editor had physically shook a colleague during an interaction. Meanwhile, Munchetty was believed to be in talks to move over to LBC, with the latest reports claiming the Beeb is planning to put both hosts under formal investigation.