BBC host Rylan Clark denies rumours he is presenter accused of paying teen for explicit pictures
Rylan Clark has denied he is the BBC presenter accused of sending a teenager cash in exchange for sexually explicit pictures. It was revealed on Friday night that a ‘well-known’ BBC host was reportedly being investigated and has been ‘taken off air’.
The report, published by The Sun, claimed the man has paid more than £35,000 in return for the images. However, the individual has not been named which has sparked wild speculation across social media with people blindly guessing at household names including Rylan’s.
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Hide AdThe Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two host tweeted: “Not sure why my names floating about but re that story in the sun- that ain’t me babe. I’m Currently filming a show in Italy for the bbc, so take my name out ya mouths.” He said this in reference to Will Smith’s infamous line from last year’s Oscars.
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.”
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Hide AdThe 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."