The BBC is an institution, funded by the paying public, which brings news and entertainment to the world over.
But with public funding comes an air of scrutiny which no other broadcaster is subjected to.
Here we take a look at all the scandals the BBC has had to respond in recent months.
MasterChef
The new series launched this week, and featured two controversial faces — despite calls from the public and participants for it to not be aired.
Hosts Gregg Wallace and John Torode were both sacked in July, after a report into their conduct on the show upheld the allegations made against them.
Gregg Wallace was fired from the show after a series of sexual misconduct allegations, including one accusation of unwanted touching with 45 out of 83 claims against him upheld.
John Torode was sacked after an allegation related to a severely offensive racist term allegedly used on the set of MasterChef in 2018. He has apologised to anyone he caused offence to.
The BBC was left with a conundrum about whether to air the cooking series, and decided it was the “right thing to do” for the amateur chefs who had taken part competing.
But it faced a backlash from some women who came forward, while former Celebrity MasterChef contestant Kirsty Wark suggested the BBC could have refilmed the series without the two co-hosts.
The first three episodes were released on iPlayer on Wednesday (August 6).
The BBC announced that Wallace will be replaced by Irish chef Anna Haugh in the final episodes of the series, because the allegations against him first emerged during filming in November.
Naga Munchetty & Richard Frediani
It has been reported that an HR adviser from consultancy firm PwC was earlier this year hired in as outside help to review the “culture” of the BBC One morning show BBC Breakfast.
The programme was hit with bullying allegations against Naga Munchetty, 50, and editor of the show, Richard Frediani.
Frediani took a period of extended leave from the programme, which he has headed up from Salford since 2019, amid the bullying allegations but came back a month later after an external consultation.
The BBC Breakfast editor had been accused of shouting, swearing and creating an intimidating atmosphere, sources told Deadline.
In April, it was claimed that Munchetty was “barely speaking” to Frediani after allegedly accusing him of bullying and misconduct.
A source told The Times: "Fredi has no relationship with Charlie [Strayt] and Naga, which is weird when they are half of his frontline presenting roster.
“It appears he doesn't like them and they don't like him — for whatever reason, they don't talk to each other”.
Naga Munchetty also came under fire for allegedly bullying a junior staffer, with scrutiny rising over the internal culture of the broadcasting house.
Munchetty is understood to have raised concerns about Frediani’s conduct, with an insider speaking to The Sun claiming that Munchetty felt compelled to act because she’s passionate about “speaking up if she believes something is wrong.”
She then also came under fire herself for two incidents that allegedly happened over a three-year period.
In 2022, Munchetty, 50, is said to have used a crude word for a sex act and asked a colleague if they had done it. Although the exact comment hasn’t been reported, one source told The Sun that it was “Crass, inappropriate and wildly unprofessional. The person felt embarrassed”.
Munchetty was also accused of bullying a woman last year, with The Sun claiming she allegedly accused a younger staffer of stealing, without presenting evidence.
The source told The Sun: “It was humiliating. There was no evidence, no apology. The woman left not long after, completely demoralised”.
The Standard has approached Munchetty’s representatives for comments regarding the incidents, but the television presenter has seemingly yet to publicly address the allegations.
Charlie Stayt
Charlie Stayt, another BBC Breakfast host is also said to be ‘under review’ from bosses at the corporation after a number of complaints were reportedly made against him by other staff members.
The 63 year old is now reportedly also ‘under review’ alongside Munchetty and it has been claimed the co-hosts will now face a formal investigation at the Beeb, albeit separately.
A source told The Sun: “A number of people have come forward to share their experiences with Charlie, so the BBC has officially moved to place the complaints under review.’’
In a statement, a BBC spokesperson said: ‘While we do not comment on individual cases, we take all complaints about conduct at work extremely seriously and will not tolerate behaviour that is not in line with our values.”
Female presenter showing lewd pics to a junior member of staff
A seasoned female BBC presenter, who has not yet been publicly named, was the subject of a complaint after allegedly showing a junior colleague an unwanted intimate image of an unknown man.
The Sun reported that the star, who is said to be a household name who features among the BBC’s highest-paid presenters, was told by bosses to apologise to her co-worker after showing them a picture.
It is reported that the junior female member of staff was “horrified” and tearful after being shown the NSFW image, said to be of a man’s genitals.
Huw Edwards
In August 2024, former newsreader Huw Edwards admitted having 41 indecent images, which had been sent to him by another man on WhatsApp. They included seven category A images - the most serious classification. Two involved a child aged about seven to nine.
Edwards, 63, was sentenced to a six-month jail sentence suspended for two years at Westminster Magistrates’ Court
