BBC boss says no talent is ‘untouchable’ after claims against former employees
A senior BBC executive has said no talent is “untouchable” or “bigger than the BBC” after a string of high-profile former employees made headlines due to allegations about their behaviour while working at the corporation.
BBC chairman Dr Samir Shah addressed the numerous reviews the corporation has had to conduct in the last few years into former presenters including Huw Edwards, Russell Brand and Tim Westwood while appearing before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Tuesday.
He said: “No-one is untouchable. No-one is bigger than the BBC… It’s really, really important. It’s 2025, we can’t have this kind of behaviour and find it acceptable.
“It’s certainly true that, looking at Tim Westwood’s behaviour, that would not be possible now, but there are others.
“We just have to make sure that the BBC is a modern organisation. People who work for it feel able to voice their concerns, if they have any, and that they will be dealt with, and that no-one in the BBC is untouchable.”
BBC director general Tim Davie agreed that the message to BBC staff is that “everyone is dispensable”.
Mr Davie also revealed that he is expecting the external review into complaints against MasterChef host Gregg Wallace to come back within “weeks not months”.
It was announced in November that the show’s production company Banijay UK is investigating historical allegations of misconduct against Wallace after he stepped away from hosting the BBC One cooking show.
Wallace’s lawyers previously told the BBC “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.
Discussing the numerous allegations, Mr Davie said: “This abuse of power, we want to finish it.”
He noted the corporation now has a “specialist case management process” which means that if an issue is raised then there is “not any situation that doesn’t get visibility across the BBC and it’s taken seriously”.
“We’ve got anti-bullying and harassment policies, we’ve standardised our complaints process, and in our latest research, about 70% of staff feel comfortable to raise issues,” he added.
Elsewhere in the session, Dr Shah confirmed the corporation has not been able to recover any salary from former broadcaster Edwards yet, which he described as “quite frustrating”.
Last year, Edwards admitted accessing indecent images of children as young as seven and was handed a suspended prison sentence.
After his guilty plea in July, the BBC asked him to return his salary, which he was paid during the period following his arrest in November 2023 until he resigned in April 2024.
Asked if they have been able to recover any salary from Edwards, Dr Shah said: “We have not. We’ve obviously asked, and we’ve said it many times, but he seems unwilling. There was a moment that we thought that he might just do the right thing for a change, then he decided not to.”
He added: “It’s quite frustrating this, really, because I think he should have done it. He could still do it. It’s not right. He’s taken licence fee payers’ money and he knew what he’d done and he should return it now.”
The BBC director general also confirmed the corporation has sought legal advice and there is nothing more it can do at this stage.
Last month, the BBC Board apologised after a review found it “did not take adequate action” upon learning about concerns regarding the behaviour of veteran DJ Westwood.
The 67-year-old former hip hop DJ previously said he “strongly denies all allegations of inappropriate behaviour” as he faces historical sexual abuse allegations from multiple women at the height of his career.
Westwood stepped down from his show on Capital Xtra in April 2022 and left Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra in 2013 after nearly 20 years.
In January, another BBC review into the conduct of former radio DJ Brand during his time with the broadcaster found a number of people “felt unable to raise” concerns about the presenter and believed he “would always get his way and therefore they stayed silent”.
The actor and comedian, 49, has denied accusations of rape, assault and emotional abuse, and previously said all his sexual relationships were “absolutely always consensual”.
In September 2023, a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches revealed four women had accused him of sexual assaults between 2006 and 2013.
