BBC presenter scandal: How the ‘creepy’ TV star pursued 20-year-olds on dating apps

The scandal surrounding a BBC presenter is only getting murkier. Days after the public broadcaster suspended an employee for paying a teenager thousands of pounds for sexually explicit pictures, he is facing a fresh set of allegations. Another young person has come forward saying that they were contacted on a dating app, as British prime minister Rishi Sunak urged other potential complainants to come forward. That’s not all. There are also reports of the BBC presenter breaking COVID-19 lockdown rules to meet a 23-year-old and reaching out to a 17-year-old on Instagram. Was the BBC employee a serial predator? What are the latest developments in the case? We take a look. The story of the second young person The second young person, in their early 20s, was first contacted anonymously by the male presenter on a dating app. They were reportedly pressurised to meet up but never did. After the person hinted that they might call out the presenter online, they were sent “threatening” and “abusive” messages. The story of the second person was first reported by BBC News. They have no connection to the first person at the centre of The Sun’s story on payment for explicit pictures. The second individual spoke to BBC News and that they were scared by the power the presenter held. The threatening messages, which were filled with expletives, had frightened them. The presenter and the 20-year-old first met on a dating app and then the conversation moved to a private platform. This is where the older man identified himself but told the youth not to reveal his identity to anyone. [caption id=“attachment_12858622” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A staff member walks outside the BBC headquarters in London. British detectives met with representatives of the BBC on Monday over the sexual pictures scandal. AP[/caption] Later, the young person hinted online to have connected with a BBC presenter and implied that they would name him. However, this angered the presenter, who continues to be unnamed. BBC News has seen the threatening messages and also verified that they were sent from the phone of the presenter. It has also seen the young person’s online posts. The second young person has spoken to BBC News but has not complained to the BBC corporate investigation unit, which is probing the allegations. Also read: BBC and Bias: The Modi documentary, the ‘prejudiced’ lens on India, and other controversies Meeting a 23-year-old during lockdown Another report published by The Sun, which was the first to break the story on Friday, said that the unnamed BBC star allegedly travelled to meet a 23-year-old during the lockdown in February 2021. The COVID-19 restrictions prevented people from meeting anyone outside the household and the presenter allegedly broke the rules and travelled to this person’s home. He travelled outside of London to meet the 23-year-old at their flat. The TV anchor also sent money to this youngster and asked for a picture. He was sent a semi-naked photograph, reports The Sun. The pattern seems similar. This young person connected with the presenter on a dating site in 2020 and after a month, the conversation moved to WhatsApp. “I got a message from him from an account that didn’t have his picture. We started chatting and I didn’t know it was the star at the time,” the 23-year-old told The Sun. After the BBC star revealed his name, the youngster put two and two together. They said that the man insisted on face-to-face interaction. According to a report in The Sun, the presenter wanted to meet immediately despite the stringent COVID-19 restrictions. “He was always asking to meet and I found it quite pressurising… He wanted something to happen.” While the youngster was reluctant to meet and started making excuses, the TV star became persistent and sent a ‘barrage of messages” saying that he felt unwanted. On 15 January 2021, after the third lockdown was announced in Britain, the BBC presenter sent a WhatsApp message, reports The Sun. “I’ve been as patient as I can. I’m not used to being turned down like this. Sorry.” [caption id=“attachment_12858632” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A front page of The Sun, which broke the story of the BBC presenter last week[/caption] Finally, the young person gave in and agreed to meet the man. On 18 February 2021, the TV anchor broke quarantine rules and travelled out of London. He was obsessed with making tea for his web date when they met and gave them a “present” of £200 (Rs 21,294), one of three payments made to a PayPal account. The others were for £200 and £250 (Rs 26,618), reports The Sun. “… he started to make me feel like he owned me because he was giving me money,” the youngster told the tabloid. They felt used and uncomfortable. They also said that the presenter was arrogant and often spoke about his career and his famous friends. Pursuing a 17-year-old follower Yet another report in The Sun says that the unnamed presenter started a conversation with a 17-year-old follower on Instagram. The individual said that the TV star was the one who reached out to them out of the blue and started chatting. The first message came around October 2018. The teen who followed the high-profile TV personality on Instagram was taken aback by the messages. They were surprised but excited and responded to the BBC star. [caption id=“attachment_12858662” align=“alignnone” width=“545”] The BBC presenter allegedly sent messages to a 17-year-old follower on Instagram, reports The Sun. Representational image/AFP[/caption] The much older man responded to messages from the teen, who was asking him about his work, with a heart emoji, followed by a kiss at the end of the message. The youngster, who is now 22, told The Sun that while they thought it was a bit strange, they did not read into the messages. “Looking back now it does seem creepy because he was messaging me when I was still in school,” the young person told The Sun. The investigation Even as the TV presenter faces new allegations, the police have asked the BBC to stop inquiries into the suspended male presenter. Meanwhile, specialist officers are deciding if there is any justification for a criminal investigation. The BBC director general, Tim Davie, said the metropolitan police had taken control of the inquiry, although the police were still at the “scoping” stage of their inquiries, reports The Guardian.

Meanwhile, the first young person at the centre of the scandal has claimed that the key allegations were “rubbish”. On Monday evening, their lawyer said in a statement that the mother and The Sun had made false claims. “For the avoidance of doubt, nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place between our client and the BBC personality and the allegations reported in the Sun newspaper are rubbish,” the lawyer said. However, the family of the young person said that they stand by their account. With inputs from agencies