A male staff member has been suspended following allegations that one of its top presenters paid a teenager for explicit photos, the BBC has said.
The teenager is alleged to have spent more than £35,000 on an addiction to cocaine that “destroyed” their lives after the unidentified presenter paid them for sexual images.
The Sun quotes the victim’s mother as saying that the victim changed from a “happy-go-lucky teenager” to a “ghost-like crack addict” within three years.
Neither the presenter nor the teenager have been identified.
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 spokesperson added that the corporation has “robust internal processes” in place when it comes to the handling of complaints.
“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.”
A number of stars, including Rylan Clark and Gary Lineker, have taken to Twitter to distance themselves from the allegations, while the BBC’s director-general Tim Davie has condemned ‘unsubstantiated rumours’ about BBC talent.
