BBC boss admits TV stars got away with ‘certain behaviour’

Tim Davie has admitted following recent BBC scandals that TV stars are allowed to engage in “certain behaviours” in the workplace.

The corporate CEO made the admission after being asked at an event if there was a perception that “famous people who are paid high salaries are indulged and their behavior is acceptable.”

Huw Edwards, the BBC’s highest-paid news presenter, was the subject of workplace complaints from junior staff before he was convicted this week of child sex offences, who said he sent them inappropriate messages.

Jermaine Jenas, a presenter of Match of the Day and The One Show, was recently fired by the BBC following complaints about inappropriate phone messages.

Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Graziano Di Prima also left the company after it emerged he kicked his high-profile partner, an accusation that came amid allegations of a culture of bullying at the BBC One show.

Mr Davie spoke about the Edwards scandal during an interview with the BBC’s Amol Rajan at the Royal Television Society conference.

He said: “There is no doubt that a case like this affects our reputation. We are very conscious that people’s trust in the BBC is absolutely vital.”

Mr Davie was also asked if there was “one rule for famous people and one for junior staff”.

A disciplinary investigation into Edwards invited staff to submit complaints, but the process was shelved when the presenter resigned. A wider review of the BBC’s workplace culture was announced last month.

The BBC boss said that television culture had “made enormous progress” over the last 20 to 30 years.

But he admitted: “There’s still something about business where you have these people… we often say someone is creatively brilliant, but there are certain behaviors that come with that.

“One of the things I want to do in the next part of this journey as CEO – I really want to be at a point where we really get through this. You use the crisis to move forward.”

Asked again about the belief that celebrity bad behavior is “tolerated and excused,” he replied: “It’s a constant work in progress.”

“Terrible crimes”

Mr Davie said more than 50 per cent of the BBC’s workforce was now women, adding: “The environment is different. That’s why it hurts so much when things like this happen.”

He also assured that Edwards would never return to the BBC.

“This man has just been convicted of horrific offences and it is quite obvious to me that I cannot imagine him working at the BBC again. It is not a difficult question,” he said.

“The secret life this guy led – what we saw was shocking.”

However, Mr Davie said Edwards would not be removed from the BBC archives.

The presenter has been the face of the corporation’s press coverage of major UK events in recent years, including royal events, and was chosen to announce the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

“We never ban someone completely or remove them from the archive,” the CEO said.

“I would never say never. There could be a documentary, a contextual piece where we see images of people who no longer work with us, who, frankly, have been disgraced.

“I can’t see any scenario where any of Huw Edwards’ footage would be used in a daily programme or anything else, but I think the BBC is wrong to say you’ll never see the person’s archive again. It doesn’t pass the common sense test.”

The BBC is currently investigating claims made by actress Amanda Abbington about her experiences on Strictly Come Dancing.

She claims that her partner, Giovanni Pernice, was “vulgar, cruel and mean” to her during rehearsals. Pernice vehemently denies the accusations.

Mr Davie said the BBC was “fairly close to the end” of the review.

Asked if it would have been useful to have completed the report before the new series of the dance show began last week, he replied: “A lot of things in life would have been useful.”

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