When will the BBC learn from its errors?
It upheld 45 alleged instances of making inappropriate and sexually explicit comments. He was also found to have been 'in a state of undress' on three separate occasions and of making unwanted physical contact on another.
The upshot is that Wallace, who denied the allegations and says he has autism, has been sacked and will never work for the BBC again. Complaints about Wallace's behaviour on MasterChef were raised with the BBC as long ago as 2013 and then again in subsequent years.
Yet he continued to present the flagship programme until November last year. Only when this newspaper published the allegations did the BBC act with characteristic tardiness. This has been ruinous to Wallace's career and an embarrassment to the BBC, once again questioning the rigour of the Corporation's protocols.
The same can be said of the second report to land on the desk of Tim Davie, the director-general. This confirmed that the BBC breached its editorial guidelines by failing to disclose that the child narrator of a Gaza documentary was the son of a Hamas official.
The report criticised the BBC for not being 'sufficiently proactive' with initial editorial checks, and for a 'lack of critical oversight of unanswered or partially answered questions' ahead of broadcast.
The fact that the BBC was unaware of the Hamas background of the narrator's father is irrelevant. The point is that it should have been far more diligent in establishing the bona fides of the programme before airing it, given the sensitivities of the subject matter.
Why was a child narrator being used at all other than to give a tendentious slant to the reportage? The report said this was 'inappropriate' and it is hard to understand how the BBC, with all its checks, balances and regulations, let it slip through the net.
Once again Mr Davie is facing calls for his resignation, as he did after the BBC's failure to prevent the broadcast of allegedly anti-Semitic rants by the rap artist Bob Vylan at Glastonbury. He has promised to 'prevent such errors being repeated' but where Israel is concerned they keep recurring. For how much longer?
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BBC News
25 minutes ago
- BBC News
BBC salaries list: Which stars are missing, and why?
The BBC's annual report will be published later, with Gary Lineker and Zoe Ball likely to top the star salaries list for the last time. The pair have occupied the top two slots on the rankings every year since 2020, but both have recently exited their respective left the Radio 2 Breakfast show in December, three quarters of the way through the financial year, while Lineker recently stood down from the BBC sooner than planned after reposting a controversial Instagram reel about Mills has taken over the Radio 2 breakfast show (Ball now hosts Saturday afternoons), while Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan are the new faces of Match of the Day. Their new salaries are all expected to appear in full next there are plenty of other stars who make huge sums of money from the BBC whose names never appear on the list, due to the criteria used to compile a result, the corporation's salary disclosure is far from a complete picture of what top talent at the BBC earn. Why are some names missing from the BBC salary list? The BBC publishes the names and salaries of stars and executives who earn above a certain threshold (currently £178,000) every year. But while there are many stars the BBC employs directly, the corporation also contracts a large number of production companies, including the corporation's own commercial arm, BBC Studios, to make some of its programmes. The stars who are subsequently employed by those production companies are not directly employed by the BBC, and therefore not on the salaries BBC Studios is a commercial organisation, not underpinned by the licence fee, it is in competition for business with the BBC, streaming services and other a result, its salaries aren't included, so that there is a level playing field for it to compete in the commercial make things more complicated, some shows which air on the BBC are not solely funded by it. Industry, for example, is a co-production with HBO, while the last series of Doctor Who was partly funded by Disney+.That means it's not necessarily the case that the salaries of big stars associated with these shows are funded exclusively from licence fee money. Which stars do not appear on the salaries list? It would be almost impossible to come up with a full, exhaustive list, but here are a few examples of names who are absent, in no particular Clark is missing, despite hosting a weekly Radio 2 show, covering the Eurovision Song Contest, fronting an Italian travel series with his friend Robert Rinder, and his special one-off interview programmes with Cher and Mariah fellow X Factor graduate Stacey Solomon is also not listed, even though she fronts Sort Your Life Out and appears on her own reality TV series with husband Joe Brydon would be included on a more comprehensive list for hosting Would I Lie To You?, as well as his role in Gavin & Stacey's Christmas special, and his new job fronting the corporation's forthcoming competition format Destination Would I Lie To You? co-star Lee Mack would also be listed if directly employed by the BBC, thanks to his role as team captain, as well as for writing and starring in sitcom Not Going Mitchell would also have made the list, not just due to his role as the show's other team captain, but also for BBC work such as his lead acting role in drama popular Friday night panel show, Have I Got News For You would also see team captains Paul Merton and Ian Hislop appear on the list. On one tetchy exchange on Have I Got News For You in 2019, then-MP Johnny Mercer suggested Hislop earned £20,000 per episode - a figure Hislop did not dispute. Other stars who do not appear include Alan Carr (Interior Design Masters), Alison Hammond (Florida Unpacked and Alison Hammond's Big Weekend), Jools Holland (Later) and Dannii Minogue (I Kissed A Boy). Quiz show hosts as a breed are generally nowhere to be seen. Ross Kemp does not appear for Bridge of Lies, nor does Sandi Toksvig for Coren-Mitchell does not appear for Only Connect, while Sue Perkins is absent for Chess Masters: The Endgame (she also hosts Radio 4's Just A Minute).The weekday edition of Pointless would almost certainly land Alexander Armstrong on the list if compiled differently, along with his Pointless Celebrities co-star Richard Osman, who also fronts BBC Two's House of Games. Romesh Ranganathan hosts a variety of programmes for the BBC, including a weekend Radio 2 show, The Weakest Link and his Misinvestigations series, but is unlisted. The huge number of high-profile actors who appear in BBC dramas and comedies are missing, include Sherwood (starring Lesley Manville and David Morrissey) Mr Loverman (Lennie James), Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis), Ludwig (Mitchell and Anna Maxwell Martin), and The Responder (Martin Freeman).Other popular BBC dramas and comedies not eligible to appear on the list include The Gold, Rebus, This City Is Ours, Blue Lights, Mrs Brown's Boys, and the Gavin & Stacey Christmas special, written by and starring James Corden and Ruth who appear in continuing dramas such as Death in Paradise, Waterloo Road, Casualty, EastEnders and Call The Midwife also do not Morning Live presenters Michelle Ackerley and Gethin Jones are absent, as are the stars of Homes Under The Hammer, Bargain Hunt, The Repair Shop and Saturday Kitchen. There are some other stars who fall into a middle category - those who do appear on the list, but only for some of their BBC work. For example, Vernon Kay is listed for his weekday Radio 2 show, the most popular radio programme in the if he co-hosts an episode of The One Show, his fee for that is not included in his published Lauren Laverne does not have her One Show appearances included, but she appears for hosting Radio 4's Desert Island Discs and her BBC Radio 6 Music One Show's other presenters, such as Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Clara Amfo, Angellica Bell, Ronan Keating, Alex Scott and countless others also wouldn't be listed - although some appear for other BBC presenters such as Clive Myrie, Fiona Bruce, Evan Davis and Amol Rajan are listed for their work on news programmes, but not for the entertainment and documentary formats they also front. As we reported last year, one name who would potentially be at the very top of a more complete list is Michael McIntyre. He is effectively the corporation's equivalent of ITV's Ant & Dec, hired to front Saturday night shows throughout the year such as The Wheel and his Big Bradley Walsh would likely feature for anchoring Gladiators and Blankety Blank, while Graham Norton would appear for commentating on Eurovision and his BBC One chat Winkleman is another of the corporation's biggest names, as the host of Strictly Come Dancing and The Traitors, arguably the BBC's biggest new hit of recent years. She also filled in for Norton on his chat show this year. Top Gear may have been rested, but its former lead anchor Paddy McGuinness now fronts a Sunday programme on Radio 2, and also took over from Gregg Wallace as the host of Inside The former Top Gear co-star Freddie Flintoff has similarly gone on to front Field Of Dreams following the motoring show's Wallace may have been sacked, but until his departure he would have appeared on a more comprehensive list for the huge number of MasterChef episodes he fronted, as would his co-star John big name associated with Strictly is missing, with Tess Daly, Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood all Apprentice has been one of the BBC's biggest hits for two decades, but the star responsible for its success, Lord Sugar, does not have his salary listed. His assistants Baroness Brady and Tim Campbell don't the BBC's other big business-based show, Dragons' Den, does not list the salaries for its investors Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Sara Davies, Touker Suleyman and Steven Bartlett.
Glasgow Times
25 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Focus on Gregg Wallace, Glastonbury and Gaza as BBC releases annual report
The corporation will highlight its successes over the past year and disclose the pay of its top talent, but focus is likely to be on a storm of stories about the BBC's shows and coverage of live events. It comes after Ofcom announced it would investigate the BBC's Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone documentary after a review found it had breached the corporation's editorial guidelines on accuracy. The BBC will face scrutiny after 45 out of the 83 allegations of misconduct made against former MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace were upheld (Andrew Matthews/PA) The regulator said it had examined the BBC report and would be investigating under its broadcasting code, which states factual programmes 'must not materially mislead the audience'. The programme was removed from BBC iPlayer in February after it emerged that the child narrator, Abdullah, is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who has worked as Hamas's deputy minister of agriculture. An Ofcom spokesperson said: 'Having examined the BBC's findings, we are launching an investigation under our rule which states that factual programmes must not materially mislead the audience.' The review, conducted by Peter Johnston, the director of editorial complaints and reviews, which is independent of BBC News, said the programme was in breach of accuracy for 'failing to disclose information about the child narrator's father's position within the Hamas-run government'. But the review found no other breaches of editorial guidelines, including breaches of impartiality, and also found no evidence that outside interests 'inappropriately impacted on the programme'. The BBC will also face scrutiny after a total of 45 out of the 83 allegations of misconduct made against former MasterChef presenter Wallace during his time on the show were substantiated, including one allegation of 'unwelcome physical contact', in a report following an investigation into his behaviour. On Monday, Wallace's MasterChef co-host John Torode confirmed he had a standalone allegation of racist language upheld in the same report. He said had 'no recollection of the incident' and was 'shocked and saddened' by the allegation in an Instagram post. In November 2024 the show's production company, Banijay UK, announced Wallace would step away from his role on the BBC cooking show while historical allegations of misconduct were investigated. The report concluded that the 'majority of the substantiated allegations against Mr Wallace related to inappropriate sexual language and humour', adding that 'a smaller number of allegations of other inappropriate language and being in a state of undress were also substantiated'. Also expected to be on the agenda is coverage of Glastonbury, which saw the broadcaster livestream a set by punk duo Bob Vylan, during which singer Bobby Vylan, whose real name is reportedly Pascal Robinson-Foster, led crowds in chants of 'death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)'. Bob Vylan performing on the West Holts Stage during the Glastonbury Festival (Yui Mok/PA) Director-general Tim Davie confirmed on Monday that staff at the festival had the authority to cut the stream Avon and Somerset Police have since launched an investigation into the group's set with the BBC issuing an apology for the live stream, and promising to no longer broadcast live acts they deem 'high risk' as they had with Bob Vylan in a pre-festival assessment. The Ipswich-formed duo, who are completed by drummer Bobbie Vylan, are also being investigated by the Met Police for alleged comments in a video of their performance supporting Iggy Pop at Alexandra Palace in May. In the video, Vylan appears to say: 'Death to every single IDF soldier out there as an agent of terror for Israel. Death to the IDF.' According to reports in The Times, the BBC's director of music Lorna Clarke was among a group of senior staff who have stepped back from their day-to-day roles after the broadcaster's decision to show Bob Vylan's set live. Gary Lineker left the BBC earlier this year (Ian Walton/PA) The salary of former Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker is expected to be included in the report, after he left his presenting role early following a social media row after he shared a post about Zionism which featured a depiction of a rat, historically an antisemitic insult. Lineker, who issued an unreserved apology, was the BBC's highest-paid presenter until his departure, with the annual report for 2023/24 showing his salary to be to around £1.35 million a year. The presenter will no longer front the BBC's coverage of the 2026 World Cup or the FA Cup next season, with his final appearance on Match Of The Day at the end of the last Premier League season. It comes as it was announced that Mr Davie and BBC chairman Samir Shah will face questions from MPs over the documentary, Wallace, and its Glastonbury coverage. The two will appear before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on September 9.
Western Telegraph
28 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Focus on Gregg Wallace, Glastonbury and Gaza as BBC releases annual report
The corporation will highlight its successes over the past year and disclose the pay of its top talent, but focus is likely to be on a storm of stories about the BBC's shows and coverage of live events. It comes after Ofcom announced it would investigate the BBC's Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone documentary after a review found it had breached the corporation's editorial guidelines on accuracy. The BBC will face scrutiny after 45 out of the 83 allegations of misconduct made against former MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace were upheld (Andrew Matthews/PA) The regulator said it had examined the BBC report and would be investigating under its broadcasting code, which states factual programmes 'must not materially mislead the audience'. The programme was removed from BBC iPlayer in February after it emerged that the child narrator, Abdullah, is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who has worked as Hamas's deputy minister of agriculture. An Ofcom spokesperson said: 'Having examined the BBC's findings, we are launching an investigation under our rule which states that factual programmes must not materially mislead the audience.' The review, conducted by Peter Johnston, the director of editorial complaints and reviews, which is independent of BBC News, said the programme was in breach of accuracy for 'failing to disclose information about the child narrator's father's position within the Hamas-run government'. But the review found no other breaches of editorial guidelines, including breaches of impartiality, and also found no evidence that outside interests 'inappropriately impacted on the programme'. The BBC will also face scrutiny after a total of 45 out of the 83 allegations of misconduct made against former MasterChef presenter Wallace during his time on the show were substantiated, including one allegation of 'unwelcome physical contact', in a report following an investigation into his behaviour. On Monday, Wallace's MasterChef co-host John Torode confirmed he had a standalone allegation of racist language upheld in the same report. He said had 'no recollection of the incident' and was 'shocked and saddened' by the allegation in an Instagram post. In November 2024 the show's production company, Banijay UK, announced Wallace would step away from his role on the BBC cooking show while historical allegations of misconduct were investigated. The report concluded that the 'majority of the substantiated allegations against Mr Wallace related to inappropriate sexual language and humour', adding that 'a smaller number of allegations of other inappropriate language and being in a state of undress were also substantiated'. Also expected to be on the agenda is coverage of Glastonbury, which saw the broadcaster livestream a set by punk duo Bob Vylan, during which singer Bobby Vylan, whose real name is reportedly Pascal Robinson-Foster, led crowds in chants of 'death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)'. Bob Vylan performing on the West Holts Stage during the Glastonbury Festival (Yui Mok/PA) Director-general Tim Davie confirmed on Monday that staff at the festival had the authority to cut the stream Avon and Somerset Police have since launched an investigation into the group's set with the BBC issuing an apology for the live stream, and promising to no longer broadcast live acts they deem 'high risk' as they had with Bob Vylan in a pre-festival assessment. The Ipswich-formed duo, who are completed by drummer Bobbie Vylan, are also being investigated by the Met Police for alleged comments in a video of their performance supporting Iggy Pop at Alexandra Palace in May. In the video, Vylan appears to say: 'Death to every single IDF soldier out there as an agent of terror for Israel. Death to the IDF.' According to reports in The Times, the BBC's director of music Lorna Clarke was among a group of senior staff who have stepped back from their day-to-day roles after the broadcaster's decision to show Bob Vylan's set live. Gary Lineker left the BBC earlier this year (Ian Walton/PA) The salary of former Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker is expected to be included in the report, after he left his presenting role early following a social media row after he shared a post about Zionism which featured a depiction of a rat, historically an antisemitic insult. Lineker, who issued an unreserved apology, was the BBC's highest-paid presenter until his departure, with the annual report for 2023/24 showing his salary to be to around £1.35 million a year. The presenter will no longer front the BBC's coverage of the 2026 World Cup or the FA Cup next season, with his final appearance on Match Of The Day at the end of the last Premier League season. It comes as it was announced that Mr Davie and BBC chairman Samir Shah will face questions from MPs over the documentary, Wallace, and its Glastonbury coverage. The two will appear before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on September 9.
