The director general of the BBC has admitted the corporation is braced for future scandals in the wake of controversies over its Gaza documentary, Glastonbury coverage and investigation into Gregg Wallace.
The boss of the national broadcaster stressed “nobody is irreplaceable” – including presenters – as he was grilled by MPs on the Commons culture committee.
But he rejected the idea he had considered resigning after a difficult summer for the organisation, saying: “This is not a job for the faint-hearted.
“What has been on my mind is dealing with the issues.”
He acknowledged the issues the BBC faces are “serious” and said he was “ensuring the BBC is taking the right actions” to solve them.
And he admitted that “we may see more things coming out” after he was asked for assurances that there will not be another “scandal of BBC talent abusing their position”.
He said: “I don’t think you can change culture in six months and suddenly say nothing’s going to occur.
“We may see more things coming out, because in some ways I’m asking for it, and being utterly transparent and running towards the problem, that’s what we need to do.”
But he would not be drawn on the potential scale of the problem or on questions of whether further scandals were brewing about workplace behaviour and abuses of power.
He said he would not be offering a “running commentary” on whistleblowing, adding: “I don’t think it’s right for me to talk about the specifics of what the whistleblowing team are dealing with day to day.”
Asked about the decision to air the current series of MasterChef after former judges Wallace and John Torode were sacked from the show following a review into Wallace’s alleged misconduct, Mr Davie said the “vast majority” of chefs wanted the series to air.
“In our research, overall, people supported the decision, but I don’t think it was an easy decision. I absolutely respect that view. I think it was, on judgement, the right thing to do, but I understand that you could see both sides of the argument very clearly.”
He also said broadcasting Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performance was a “very significant mistake”, saying it was “antisemitic” and “deeply disturbing”.
The BBC has faced criticism for continuing to livestream the performance of the punk duo as they led chants of “death, death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]”.
Mr Davie said: “I don’t think I misread it, I just got there when I heard about it [at] about five o’clock ... the performance was well done by then, and at that point I knew absolutely that it was an antisemitic broadcast.
“So, my decision to get that off on demand, simple as that.”
He backed the corporation’s “right decision” to not air Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, which was later shown on Channel 4.
He denied the BBC had been “over-cautious” in not screening it, adding “We’ve given a lot of voice on our airways, by the way, and on our news coverage, to medics working in Gaza under extreme conditions and the terrible things they’re having to face, which is horrendous.”
He also defended the decision to cast former Apprentice star Thomas Skinner on the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing.
The 58-year-old said: “That was not my decision, that was the production team looking for those people ... who want to do Strictly, and those people they thought would be interesting to the audience.”
Skinner, now a star on social media, has drawn criticism for X (Twitter) posts saying it is “not far right” to be “flying your flag and loving your country”, and complaining “it ain’t safe out there anymore” in London, saying the city is “hostile” and “tense”.
Asked about coverage of Reform and how its level can be justified for a party with only four MPs, BBC chair Samir Shah said it reflects the “changing nature of Reform support”, adding: “I don’t think it’s wall to wall.”
Committee chair Caroline Dinenage MP said it was a “fairly bumpy summer” for the corporation and added: “As well as warm words, what we really want to hear from you is clarity and decisiveness about the action and accountability the BBC is going to deliver moving forward.”
