BBC suspends staff member after explicit photo claims about unnamed presenter

BBC director-general Tim Davie said he is “wholly condemning the unsubstantiated rumours being made on the internet about some of our presenting talent” after a host of BBC presenters were forced to publicly state they were not the individual in question amid heavy speculation about the identity on social media.

The BBC has been in touch with the police alongside conducting its own inquiries and talking to the family of the teenager. Picture: James Manning/PA Wire

A male member of staff has been suspended following allegations an unnamed BBC presenter paid a teenager tens of thousands of pounds for sexually explicit images, the broadcaster said.

The corporation has said it was investigating a complaint since May when it was first made aware, and that new allegations of a “different nature” were brought to it on Thursday.