British police say they are preparing to arrest a ‘top BBC star’ as part of an ongoing child sex investigation.
According to authorities, one of the country’s biggest household names coerced children into sending sexually explicit material to his phone.
The unnamed BBC star first requested images from a teenager back in 2020 and has made a series of payments to the child over the years totalling £35,000.
The BBC says it takes “any allegations very seriously”, but has refused to publicly name and shame the star or fire him.
Sky news reports: The mother of the youth, now aged 20, told the newspaper that she had seen bank account statements showing payments totalling more than £35,000 – including one lump sum of £5,000.
She claimed the presenter requested “performances” and that her offspring had used the cash to fund an addiction to crack cocaine – which had “destroyed” their life.
“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 The Sun.
In a statement, a BBC spokesperson 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.”
They added: “If we get no reply to our attempts or receive no further contact that can limit our ability to progress things, but it does not mean our enquiries stop.
“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.”
