Five years ago, BBC promised to clean up its act… here's why it still hasn't learned lessons with more scandals coming

The Sun

3 hours ago

MILLIONS of viewers last night witnessed the warped spectacle of two men fronting a BBC show they had both been sacked from – one amid claims of sleazy behaviour, the other for alleged racist language.
Yes, Gregg Wallace and John Torode were both back on our prime-time screens as the pre-recorded series of MasterChef aired.
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Which was a staggering turn of events given that this cookery contest had served up the latest scandal to hit the corporation.
I'm sure the Beeb would have gladly binned the whole thing and pretended it never happened.
Instead, it took the divisive decision to air the show, a resolution born out of the corporation constantly sticking itself between a rock and a hard place.
Always hamstrung
If it had shelved it, 60 budding chefs would have had their hopes dashed and may even have sued the producers.
If the BBC ran the show, it provided a platform for two presenters who were forced out under a massive cloud.
So it went for the latter and is now under fire from all quarters.
But, as with so many other examples of Beeb controversies, it was another case of Broadcasting House execs staggering from one self-induced crisis to another.
The organisation is riddled by cliques, hierarchies, dogma and hypocrisy (all of which should not exist in such a liberal, egalitarian body).
As a result, it is always hamstrung whenever a problem rears its head.
The MasterChef debacle was all about behaviour that dated back years and yet the Beeb only just dealt with it now.
Fury as Glastonbury crowd chants 'death to the IDF' during Bob Vylan set aired live on BBC
But it is the same story with the Huw Edwards affair, the investigation into Strictly's Giovanni Pernice and now complaints about the behaviour of BBC Breakfast host Naga Munchetty.
With a bizarre reverence for talent, the knotweed of questionable conduct is not nipped in the bud.
Instead it is allowed to fester and, in some cases, spread.
Bobby Vylan's antisemitic rant at Glastonbury was a perfect example of a situation where the whole country asks of its national broadcaster: 'How on EARTH could you have let this happen?'
Which is why when this week we learned of accusations of drug-taking on a family show like Strictly, there was no surprise.
Just further disappointment.
Five years ago, when Tim Davie became Director-General, he made a pledge that the Beeb would clean up its act amid a string of similar controversies, but far from having learned lessons, it is like nothing had ever happened.
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It all seems so inexplicable, too. The BBC broadcast of rapper Bobby Vylan's antisemitic rant at Glastonbury was a perfect example of a situation where the whole country asks of its national broadcaster: 'How on EARTH could you have let this happen?'
The mire is certainly not down to a lack of resources.
Deep inside the Beeb's annual report was an interesting statistic that highlighted that its spend on staff pay has shot up by £66million in a year.
Figures also reveal that the number of 'senior leaders' earning more than £250,000 also rocketed by nearly 60 per cent.
Meanwhile, the report showed that although the corporation says it faces 'tight finances' and 'rising costs', its total spend on 'salaries and wages' rose from £1.25billion to £1.32billion.
That is an increase of more than five per cent — or the equivalent cost of nearly 400,000 current TV licences.
The BBC's problem is not just rooted in it getting things wrong, either. It is the perception of its actions that sees it shoot itself in the foot.
My own experience of the Beeb, as The Sun's TV Editor, is that whenever there is a whiff of controversy, it deals with things in a very prescriptive way. Too prescriptive.
When we have discussed controversies surrounding individuals on shows produced by Banijay, who make MasterChef for BBC One, corporation PRs say it is solely for the production company to deal with queries.
But they are independent companies who are not obliged to the Press quite like the Beeb is.
Rebuild trust
That is despite the fact we end up watching these shows, and the individuals involved, on the BBC.
Tim Davie himself, in dealing with the MasterChef fallout, stated unequivocally: 'If someone is found to not live up to the values, we expect the independent company, Banijay in this case, to take action and report back to us on what they have done.
Tim Davie recently said that the MasterChef scandal had convinced him the corporation had to 'draw a line in the sand' when it came to bad behaviour. But lines can blur and sands always shift
'These aren't BBC employees, but we absolutely expect action to be taken.'
But if the Beeb is to ensure production companies are transparent and proactive with it, it should also insist they act similarly with the media. That is another way that public trust can be rebuilt.
Davie recently said that the MasterChef scandal had convinced him the corporation had to 'draw a line in the sand' when it came to bad behaviour.
But lines can blur and sands always shift.
So the Director-General is going to have to do a lot better than that.
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