The BBC is taking “very seriously” allegations that one of its presenters has been taken off air over paying a teenager for sexual photographs.
A “well known” presenter has been accused of paying more than £35,000 in exchange for explicit images, the Sun reported.
Neither the accused nor the teenager, who was reported to be 17 when the payments began, was identified in the newspaper’s report.
After the report, several people ruled themselves out of being the unnamed presenter. Rylan Clark, currently filming abroad for the BBC, 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.”
Meanwhile, Jeremy Vine also denied he was the broadcaster in question. He tweeted: “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.”
Gary Lineker tweeted: “Hate to disappoint the haters but it’s not me.”
Nicky Campbell appeared to suggest he had contacted police about being mentioned in connection with the story. He tweeted a screenshot which 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 Sun reported that the teenager’s family complained to the BBC on 19 May and that the payments were used to fund a drugs habit.
“When I see him on telly, I feel sick,” the alleged recipient’s mother said. “I blame this BBC man for destroying my child’s life.
“Taking my child’s innocence and handing over the money for crack cocaine that could kill my child.”
The recipient was now 20, she said, adding that the family had “begged” the BBC presenter to “stop sending the cash”.
The mother, who reportedly approached the Sun and made it clear they wanted no payment, said her child had gone from “a happy-go-lucky youngster to a ghost-like crack addict” in three years.
Her child showed her an online bank statement that had numerous deposits from the presenter, she said.
She added: “There were huge sums, hundreds or thousands of pounds at a time.
“One time he had sent £5,000 in one lump. The money had been in exchange for sexually explicit photographs of my child.”
In a further report in the Sun on Sunday, the mother also said she had seen what appeared to be a still from a video call on her child’s phone in which the presenter could be seen stripped to his underwear.
She said that, in the image, the man was sitting on a sofa and appeared to be “leaning forward getting ready for my child to perform for him”.
In a statement released late on Friday, 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 inquiries 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.”
The allegations come weeks after the chief executive of rival broadcaster ITV denied that management might have been motivated to cover up Phillip Schofield’s affair with a younger member of staff to avoid potential commercial harm to the This Morning programme.