A number of BBC stars have spoken out to deny any association with the explicit photos scandal that led to a presenter being suspended by the broadcaster.
The allegations claimed that an unnamed presenter paid a teenager, said to have been 17 when the payments began, £35,000 in exchange for the images.
The teenager’s mother said she saw a picture of the presenter on her child’s phone “sitting on a sofa in his house in his underwear”. Their family made a complaint on May 19 this year, it is reported.
A BBC presenter has been embroiled in a sex scandal— (AP)
The BBC has suspended a male employee over the allegations and says it has been in touch with external authorities - understood to be police - alongside conducting its own inquiries.
The corporation said it was made aware of a complaint in May but that new allegations of a “different nature” were brought to it on Thursday.
How details of the scandal unfolded
The claims were detailed in The Sun this week when the alleged victim’s mother revealed her family’s full ordeal.
Among the claims were that the presenter stripped to his underpants for a video call and other explicit images sent back from the teenager’s phone.
The mother said her family made a complaint in May and only contacted the media a month later when the star was still on air.
A payment of £1,000 from the presenter to the alleged victim had also been transferred in the interim, the mother said.
“My child said they had run out of money and then suddenly had this cash,” she told The Sun.
“We never wanted an investigation. We just wanted the BBC to tell him to stop.”
The mother said the three-year saga made her child go from a “happy-go-lucky youngster to a ghost-like crack addict”.
Which stars have spoken out about the allegations?
BBC director-general Tim Davie said he is “wholly condemning the unsubstantiated rumours being made on the internet about some of our presenting talent”.
The story prompted baseless speculation about who might be involved, forcing some stars to publicly distance themselves from the allegations.
Rylan Clark was among the first to clear his name after the scandal broke.
Clark said he is in the process of filming new content with the broadcaster.
“Not sure why my name’s floating about but re that story in The Sun - that ain’t me babe,” he wrote on Twitter.
“I’m currently filming a show in Italy for the BBC, so take my name out ya mouths.”
Jeremy Vine distanced himself from the scandal— (PA Archive)
Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine was quick to take to Twitter to distance himself from the scandal.
“Just to say I’m very much looking forward to hosting my radio show on Monday,” he wrote.
“Whoever the ‘BBC Presenter’ in the news is, I have the same message for you as Rylan did earlier: it certainly ain’t me.”
BBC’s Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker said he had nothing to do with the scandal in a straightforward Twitter statement.
“Hate to disappoint the haters but it’s not me,” he wrote.
Radio star Nicky Campbell was forced to take to Twitter after being falsely accused of being connected to the scandal.
“I think it’s important to take a stand,” he wrote.
“There are just too many of these people on social media. Thanks for your support friends.”
BBC’s response
The BBC said in an initial statement that it will “treat any allegations very seriously” in relation to the scandal and the family’s claims.
“As part of that, if we receive information that requires further investigation or examination we will take steps to do this,” the statement read.
“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 enquiries 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.”
On Sunday, it announced that the presenter had been suspended.
A BBC spokesperson said: “The BBC first became aware of a complaint in May.
“New allegations were put to us on Thursday of a different nature and in addition to our own inquiries we have also been in touch with external authorities, in line with our protocols.
“We can also confirm a male member of staff has been suspended.
“We expect to be in a position to provide a further update in the coming days as the process continues. The BBC board will continue to be kept up to date.”
The statement added that the corporation takes “any allegations seriously” and that it has “robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations”.
“This is a complex and fast-moving set of circumstances and the BBC is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps”, it added.
“It is important that these matters are handled fairly and with care.
“We have been clear that if – at any point – new information comes to light or is provided to us, this will be acted upon appropriately and actively followed up.”
