Pressure has intensified for the unnamed BBC presenter to come forward after fresh claims were made about the TV star amid allegations he paid a teen for sexually explicit photographs.
A mother and stepdad claim the high-profile male presenter paid their child about £35,000 from the age of 17 for explicit pictures. The man in question has since been suspended by the publicly funded broadcaster.
On Tuesday, BBC News said a separate person in their early 20s has now accused the presenter of sending them threatening messages after meeting on a dating app. And, according to The Sun, a 23-year-old claims the presenter broke lockdown rules to meet them in February 2021, and also paid them sums of money.
The story is constantly evolving, but former BBC News presenter Jon Sopel has called for an ultimatum on the scandal that first emerged last Friday - saying the onus is 'now on The Sun to 'show us, or shut up' after the publication exposed the presenter's alleged antics.
The 64-year-old claimed the presenter is 'extremely angry' over the allegations, and said they've received support among those in the broadcasting world over how it has been handled. Speaking to News Agents, Mr Sopel said on Tuesday evening: "A number of people have been in touch with the presenter to say they feel righteous fury over the way The Sun has covered this.
"And it is fair to say that the presenter at the heart of this is also extremely angry over a lot of The Sun coverage and is convinced they're trying to dig and find new dirt to harm this particular person's reputation. The person at the centre of this - you can't imagine what a maelstrom it must be - is getting some support from across the world of broadcast but from outside that as well.
"Surely the onus has to be on The Sun now - put up or shut up. Show us what you've got."
Meanwhile, BBC star Jeremy Vine, who has publicly stated he is not the presenter in question, said on Twitter he is beginning to believe the unnamed man "should now come forward publicly" because the new allegations "will result in yet more vitriol being thrown at perfectly innocent colleagues".
The 58-year-old and Piers Morgan are among the household names who have called for the unnamed BBC presenter to go public, while a string of other BBC figures including Gary Lineker, Nicky Campbell, and Rylan Clark felt forced to publicly deny they are the person in question.
Before the most recent claims, Tim Davie, director-general of the BBC, ordered a review to "assess how some complaints are red flagged up the organisation" and said the BBC is dealing with a "complex and difficult situation" after the "serious allegations".
The Sun says it has seen messages that suggest the presenter travelled from London to a different county to meet the 23-year-old at their flat in February 2021, at a time when the nation was ordered to stay home and not mix with other households.
They say messages also suggest that the presenter gave the person more than £600 in three payments. The person told the paper: "The BBC were briefing the nation on the rules - when their star who was part of the institution was quite happy to break them."
The Sun has said they approached both the BBC and the presenter and would be able to hand over evidence to the investigation team. However, the initial young person at the heart of the explicit image controversy announced on Monday - via a lawyer - that nothing inappropriate or unlawful happened with the presenter.
Following this, the mum told The Sun they stand by the claims and a spokesperson for the tabloid said it is "now for the BBC to properly investigate".
BBC News reported that the parents contacted an unnamed police force in April but "no criminality was identified". But since then, the force has spoken with the Metropolitan Police and the BBC, with "further inquiries ongoing".
Now the internal corporation investigation has been paused after a meeting with the Met Police "while the police scope future work" to "establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offence being committed".
A statement from the BBC said: "The events of recent days have shown how complex and challenging these kinds of cases can be and how vital it is that they are handled with the utmost diligence and care. There will, of course, be lessons to be learned following this exercise."
The BBC said they made two attempts to contact the family before the Sun's front-page story on Saturday and that no additional attempts to contact the complainant were made after June 6. And that Mr Davie was only informed of the allegations when The Sun confirmed the story was going to press.
BBC News said it had contacted the presenter via his lawyer, but had received no response to the allegations. A BBC spokesperson said the corporation had nothing further to add.
