Top BBC star taken off air after ‘paying teenager for sexual pictures’

The well-known presenter is accused of giving the teen more than $67,000 (£35,000) since they were 17 in return for sordid images, The Sun reports.

The alleged recipient’s mother said they had used the cash to fund a drug habit.

She added of the star: “When I see him on telly, I feel sick.”

“I blame this BBC man for destroying my child’s life,” she said.

“Taking my child’s innocence and handing over the money for crack cocaine that could kill my child.”

Last night the presenter, a familiar face who is known to millions, was off air while the BBC investigate the mother’s bombshell claims.

The family complained to the BBC about his behaviour on May 19 and begged them to make the man “stop sending the cash”.

They had discovered that their child has been using the money to fund their spiralling addiction to crack cocaine.

The furious mother told how her child had gone from “a happy-go-lucky youngster to a ghost-like crack addict” in just three years.

They approached The Sun, making it clear they wanted no payment.

The mother said: “All I want is for this man to stop paying my child for sexual pictures and stop him funding my child’s drug habit.”

She told how her child, now 20, had shown her an online bank statement that had numerous deposits from the star.

Holding back tears, she added: “There were huge sums, hundreds, or thousands of pounds at a time.

“One time he had sent £5,000 ($9600) in one lump. The money had been in exchange for sexually explicit photographs of my child.”

Sleazy messages are alleged to have started in 2020, when the youngster was 17.

The family say the BBC presenter never hid his identity and even sent pictures of himself at work.

She said she was told the star requested “performances” and, heartbreakingly, her child said they would “get their bits out”.

Last night a spokesman for the BBC said: “We treat any allegations very seriously and we have processes in place to proactively deal with them.

“As part of that, if we receive information that requires further investigation or examination, we will take steps to do this.

“That includes actively attempting to speak to those who have contacted us in order to seek further detail and understanding of the situation.”

He added: “If, at any point, new information comes to light or is provided — including via newspapers — this will be acted upon appropriately, in line with internal processes.”

Star allegedly ‘stripped to his underpants’

The alleged victim’s mother also claimed that the presenter at the centre of a sex-pictures scandal stripped to his underpants for a video call.

She said she saw him on the youth’s phone — “leaning forward, getting ready for my child to perform for him”.

The mother who claims a BBC star paid her child for sexual pictures told yesterday how she was stunned to see a phone image of the presenter in his boxer shorts.

She recalled: “I loved watching him on TV.

“So I was shocked to see a picture of him sitting on a sofa in his house in his underwear.

“I immediately recognised him.

“He was leaning forward getting ready for my child to perform for him.

“My child told me, ‘I have shown things’ and this was a picture from some kind of video call.”

Senior Tory MP Caroline Dinenage said: “The BBC clearly has some very serious questions to answer.”

This story was published by The Sun and reproduced with permission