Dermot O’Leary issues grim warning over BBC presenter scandal

Dermot O’Leary has addressed the BBC presenter scandal on This Morning and warned that it will destroy a person’s life.

A presenter who works for the broadcaster, who has not been identified publicly, has been accused of paying a teenager more than £35,000 for explicit pictures from when the youngster in question was 17 years old.

The member of staff has been suspended by the BBC, which said it became ‘aware of a complaint’ in May before new allegations were presented to them on Thursday July 6 ‘of a different nature’.

The channel is investigating the claims, while police are also carrying out inquiries to establish whether any crime has been committed after BBC representatives spoke with detectives on Monday morning.

Follow the latest news on the BBC presenter scandal on Metro.co.uk’s live blog.

The youngster at the centre of the controversy has since said nothing inappropriate or unlawful happened with the unnamed presenter, with their lawyer branding the accusations, which originated from their mother, as ‘rubbish.’

The scandal was the headline item on Tuesday’s This Morning and was discussed by Dermot, 50, and his co-host Alison Hammond, 48.

‘There’s obviously so much here that’s evolving,’ Dermot explained. ‘There’s so much we don’t know.

Referencing the statement from the young person’s lawyer, Dermot continued: ‘It felt like event took a bit of a pace yesterday really, didn’t it? With different sides saying different things.’

The former X Factor presenter also warned on the ITV morning programme that, due to the competing accounts, ‘that’s surely why, with this story, you have to tread so very carefully.’

‘Someone’s life will be ruined off the back of this,’ he added.

The young person’s mother and step-father stood by their original allegations and questioned how their child could afford the lawyer, The Sun reported.

A spokesperson for the newspaper also said: ‘We have reported a story about two very concerned parents who made a complaint to the BBC about the behaviour of a presenter and the welfare of their child. Their complaint was not acted upon by the BBC.

‘We have seen evidence that supports their concerns. It’s now for the BBC to properly investigate.’

The mother earlier told The Sun she saw a picture of the presenter on her child’s phone ‘sitting on a sofa in his house in his underwear.’

She said she was told it was ‘a picture from some kind of video call’ and looked as though he was ‘getting ready for my child to perform for him.’

The family were said to have complained to the BBC on May 19 but allegedly became frustrated that the star remained on air.

The presenter is alleged to have made ‘panicked’ calls to the young person following the allegations, saying he asked ‘What have you done?’, and asking them to tell their mother to stop the investigation.

Many BBC stars, including Rylan Clark, Jeremy Vine and Gary Lineker, have spoken out to deny they are the suspended presenter.

BBC director-general Tim Davie is due to face the media on Tuesday for a scheduled briefing following the release of the corporation’s annual report, although the controversy will dominate the agenda.

This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.

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