It has been a brutal couple of years for the BBC after facing one crisis after another, with yet another one brewing on the horizon.
Just weeks after John Torode and Gregg Wallace were fired from MasterChef, Strictly Come Dancing has been dealt yet another blow, and former Repair Shop presenter Jay Blades has been charged with serious offences.
On top of that, there are accusations of a top female star, as yet unnamed, flashing an unwanted d**k pic to a horrified junior staffer, per The Sun.
Last year, as the national broadcaster dealt with the revelations surrounding disgraced presenter Huw Edwards, a series of allegations towards their Strictly pros, and Jermaine Jenas’ immediate dismissal, director-general Tim Davie spoke up.
He called it a ‘demanding period for the BBC’ and acknowledged ‘we have all felt let down and worried about the impact’ on the broadcaster.
Get personalised updates on Strictly
Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro’s TV Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we’ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you.
Davie added: ‘We hold ourselves to the highest standards and we know there will be lessons we can learn to ensure we have the strongest possible workplace culture.’
A year on, and with more crises coming out of the woodwork, here’s a rundown on what the BBC has faced over the past two years.
MasterChef
MasterChef first faced trouble in October 2024 when the first misconduct allegations against Gregg Wallace emerged, including accusations of ‘inappropriate sexual comments’.
Several high-profile names who worked alongside him during his career spoke up, such as Kirsty Wark, with a total of 13 people raising concerns over 17 years.
Wallace was suspended from the show (with Irish chef Anna Haugh stepping in to finish filming on the latest series) pending an external investigation commissioned by the production company Banijay.
The investigation lasted several months, during which the food show host expressed that the toll of the situation had driven him to consider taking his own life.
In the meantime, Wallace was replaced by Grace Dent in the Celebrity spin-off alongside which she filmed opposite Torode.
In July, the bombshell Silkins review confirmed that 45 out of 83 allegations against Wallace had been upheld, including an instance of ‘unwanted physical contact’ leading to Wallace threatening legal action against the BBC.
After Wallace was officially removed, a substantiated racial language allegation against Torode also led to his removal, with it later being revealed that he had used the N-word twice.
The BBC decided to air the pre-filmed MasterChef season featuring both sacked presenters, saying it was the ‘right thing to do’ for the amateur contestants.
The broadcaster’s decision has been criticised by fans, especially after one female contestant agreed to be edited out after coming out against airing the series.
There is no confirmation on whether they will air the Celebrity series and two festive specials featuring Torode.
Director-general Tim Davie has reiterated the BBC’s commitment to airing MasterChef going forward, with rumours that Saturday Kitchen’s Matt Tebbutt and Great British Menu’s Andi Oliver will take over as hosts of the traditional series.
Strictly Come Dancing
The flagship BBC dance competition series, Strictly Come Dancing, has faced plenty of troubles over the past two years.
Issues started arising after 2023 contestant Amanda Abbington, who was partnered with pro Giovanni Pernice, quit Strictly shortly into her time on the show.
After months of rumours accusing Pernice of toxic behaviour in his teaching on the show – which the dancer denied – he was removed from the lineup.
In July 2024, Abbington accused Pernice of ‘unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean’ behaviour and creating a ‘toxic environment’ which prompted the BBC to launch a probe.
The review concluded there were no findings relating to physical aggression, but six complaints of verbal bullying and harassment were upheld against him.
The same month, it was revealed that fellow pro Graziano Di Prima had departed from Strictly after allegations he was ‘physically and verbally abusive’ towards his former dance partner, Zara McDermott.
Both dancers have now been replaced for the upcoming season.
Meanwhile, Strictly star Wynne Evans became embroiled in his own scandal after he was axed from the Strictly Live Tour after comments made towards married tour host Janette Manrara, insinuating a ‘spit roast’.
‘We have made it very clear to Wynne that we do not tolerate such behaviour on the tour,’ a spokesperson told the BBC at the time.
How has the BBC been impacted by these scandals and what should it do next?
PR and social media expert Rhea Freeman spoke to Metro about the impact of these scandals.
‘So much reputational damage can be done to people based on Chinese whispers, and I think sometimes people forget there are real people at the end of it.
‘However, the BBC has been under intense scrutiny for a number of its shows, and its stars over the past few months, and this will not help its reputation. If I were working with the BBC, I would advise honesty while staying to the guidelines.
‘Explain the process, explain the policies being reviewed/reiterate policies in place to manage this behaviour, explain you want to hear from people who have concerns.
‘The temptation can be to hide away when things are going wrong, but people (and social media) can fill the void and before you know it, fiction is being quoted as fact. There’s a line to walk, but silence, in my opinion at least, isn’t part of it.’
Just as the dust has settled on this string of problems, a new external investigation has been launched – this time into the use of cocaine by two Strictly stars and drinking on the show by one of them.
The claims were reportedly made in March by law firm Russells, on behalf of former contestant and opera singer Wynne Evans.
In a statement to Metro, a BBC spokesperson said: ‘We do not recognise these claims and any suggestion that anyone has been asked to monitor an individual is completely untrue.’
Jay Blades
The Repair Shop host Jay Blades had been with the show since its launch in 2017 and eventually took a step back in May 2024 shortly after his split from his wife, Lisa Zbozen.
In September, he was charged with controlling and coercive behaviour towards Zbozen and entered a not guilty plea at Worcester Crown Court a month later.
Earlier this month, it was separately confirmed by police that he had been charged with two counts of rape and is due to appear at Telford magistrates’ court on August 13.
A day later, the 55-year-old once more appeared in Worcester Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on a charge of controlling or coercive behaviour.
The BBC previously confirmed to Metro that Blades is not currently filming The Repair Shop, and the BBC is currently not going to be scheduling any programmes in which he is featured, but content that already features Blades will remain on BBC iPlayer.
Jermaine Jenas
Last year, The One Show host Jermaine Jenas was dismissed with immediate effect after complaints of explicit texts sent to colleagues emerged.
The 42-year-old presenter was married to Ellie Penfold, with whom he shares four children, at the time, although the couple confirmed their split in May.
After the complaints came out, he admitted to sending these messages to two ‘consenting’ BBC co-workers but said there were ‘two sides to every story’ and he was going to seek legal action.
In a recent interview, he called it ‘sexting’ but reiterated there was ‘nopower element to it going on’ – adding that he was going through a rough patch with his wife.
‘I dealt with it wrong and got heavily punished for it by losing pretty much everything that I had at that time,’ he said.
Huw Edwards
In July 2023, Huw Edwards was suspended from the BBC after a series of allegations against him, and he resigned from the job in April 2024, months after he was arrested.
After ongoing speculation over what Edwards had been accused of, in September, he was handed a six-month jail sentence suspended for two years after admitting to three charges of making indecent images of children.
He issued a guilty plea at Westminster Magistrates’ Court after convicted paedophile Alex Williams sent him illegal images on WhatsApp.
As well as completing a sex offender programme he has now been placed on the registry for seven years, which means he has to notify police of his whereabouts.
In May, BBC Chairman Samir Shah issued a personal plea to Edwards to return the £200,000 to the broadcaster, which he received after his arrest.
Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty
BBC Breakfast has come under scrutiny in recent months after a spate of bullying allegations.
This week, it has been reported that long-term presenter Charlie Stayt is ‘under review’ by the broadcaster after a number of complaints were said to be made against him.
The culture at the flagship morning show is understood to be under review by an HR adviser from consultancy firm PwC after bullying allegations were levelled against co-host Naga Munchetty earlier this year.
Editor of BBC Breakfast, Richard Frediani was also subject to similar claims and took an extended period of leave from which he has now returned after an external investigation.
Deadline reported that a minimum of two misconduct complaints had been made against Frediani, with one alleging that the editor had physically shook a colleague during an interaction.
Meanwhile, Munchetty was believed to be in talks to move over to LBC, with the latest reports claiming the Beeb is planning to put both hosts under formal investigation.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.