BBC presenter accused of paying teen for sexually explicit photos as mother claims cash funded drug addiction

The BBC said it would deal with allegations involving one of its ‘popular’ presenters accused of paying a teenager for sexually explicit pictures.

The BBC has said it would ‘deal’ with allegations involving one of its ‘popular’ presenters who has reportedly been taken off air under suspicion of paying a teenager for sexually explicit photographs. The report, published by The Sun, claimed the man has paid more than £35,000 in return for the images.

According to the report, the payments began when the teen was 17 years old. The teen’s mother said her child had used the cash to fund a drug addiction. She told the newspaper: “When I see him on telly, I feel sick. I blame this BBC man for destroying my child’s life.

“Taking my child’s innocence and handing over the money for crack cocaine that could kill my child.” The family also reportedly complained to the BBC about his behaviour on May 19 and begged them to make the man “stop sending the cash”.

She also told the newspaper how her child, now 20, had shown her an online bank statement that had “numerous deposits” from the TV star. She said: “There were huge sums, hundreds or thousands of pounds at a time. One time, he had sent £5,000 in one lump. The money had been in exchange for sexually explicit photographs of my child.”

The report said the BBC is looking into the allegations, and the star is currently not scheduled to be on air in the coming days.The corporation added the information would be "acted upon appropriately".

A 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.

"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."