A spiral of shame for the BBC's biggest draws: From Strictly's abuse probe, to BBC News' Huw Edwards disgrace, how corporation's top shows have become engulfed by scandal as MOTD and The One Show are dragged in Jermaine Jenas text furore
Match of the Day and The One Show have become the latest flagship BBC programmes to be dragged into scandal due to 'inappropriate texts' allegedly sent by presenter Jermaine Jenas.
From the abuse probe at Strictly Come Dancing to the shaming of BBC News at Ten's Huw Edwards, alleged wrongdoing among staff and contestants has been dogging some of the corporation's biggest draws.
As it fights to maintain the reputation of two more of its most important hits, PR guru Mark Borkowski accused the BBC of showing signs of 'corporate paranoia' stemming from 'post-Huw Edwards PTSD'.
'For the BBC it's another story that's out of control, with social media ramping up the speculation and throwing the heat back on them,' he told MailOnline. 'They've been criticised for taking too long to fix things, now they're moving at the speed of light.'
Jenas, 41, was fired this week after 'rumours' spread among colleagues over 'unsolicited' flirty texts that he had allegedly been sending to junior members of staff.
Jermaine Jenas, 41, was fired this week after 'rumours' spread among colleagues over 'unsolicited' flirty texts that he had allegedly been sending to junior members of staff
In July, it emerged that Graziano Di Prima had been sacked from Strictly for 'kicking' his partner, Love Island star Zara McDermott
As it fights to maintain the reputation of two more of its biggest hits, PR guru Mark Borkowski accused the BBC of showing signs of 'corporate paranoia' stemming from 'post-Huw Edwards PTSD'
Within hours of him being sacked, Jenas was removed from The One Show's Facebook cover photo, while a Match of the Day mural which featured him was removed from the BBC's Quay House home in Salford.
The former footballer also appears to have been airbrushed from the website of talent agency M&C Saatchi Merlin, with his bio page now coming up with a 'not found' message.
Mr Borkowski suggested the corporation's reaction to the Jenas scandal had been found wanting from a PR standpoint.
He continued: 'It's like they've forgotten that public relations is an art. The current response is an example of the BBC inability to cope with social media.
'With its post-Huw Edwards PTSD, it's painfully clear the BBC is flailing in damage control mode, hitting the delete button on reality.
'As for the Soviet-style eradication of photos of Jenas, ''If we can't see it, it didn't happen,'' right?
'Except, of course, everyone knows that's not how it works. Their approach is a headlong dive into HR and legal to protect the BBC at all cost - cover your a*** territory, driven by fear, not wisdom.'
Jenas' dismissal happened so rapidly that even Jones, his co-presenter on The One Show, was reportedly unaware of the scandal, as were his football presenting colleagues Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker.
The contrast with Edwards is striking, with the BBC continuing to pay him a salary from July last year - when The Sun informed them of allegations he had paid a teenager for sexual images - until April, when he resigned on medical advice.
One insider suggested that lessons from the Edwards scandal had motivated bosses to act quickly against Jenas.
'It's a very sensitive landscape at the BBC at the moment with the various scandals that have beset it of late,' a source told The Mirror. 'Any hint of workplace misconduct and they needed to come down on like a ton of bricks.'
Jenas featured on the previous Facebook cover photo for The One Show
He has now been airbrushed out after being sacked from the BBC for allegedly sending inappropriate messages
The former footballer also appears to have been airbrushed from the website of talent agency M&C Saatchi Merlin. This is how his bio page previously appeared
The page now comes up with a 'not found' message
The Strictly scandal erupted in January when actress Amanda Abbington accused her professional partner Giovanni Pernice of abuse after she unexpectedly quit the show just five weeks in.
Sherlock actress Amanda, 50, a has made a series of accusations about Giovanni's teaching methods and has described his behaviour as 'unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean'. He strongly denies all of the claims.
In one interview, Amanda compared the dance show to 'the trenches' telling Channel 4 News that BBC producers had been left 'horrified' by clips that also allegedly exhibited 'humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature'.
Then, in July, it emerged that Graziano Di Prima had been sacked from Strictly for 'kicking' his partner, Love Island star Zara McDermott.
A Strictly source said: 'Graziano's abuse was ongoing, he kicked and hit her. There were multiple occasions where both physical and verbal attacks were made. It was more physical than verbal but all of it was dreadful.
'There were occasions where he did some terrible things, it really was awful. What he did makes Giovanni look like a pussy cat.'
Graziano has since claimed he does not know the full particulars of what he is supposed to have done.
The BBC will not give further details due to the 'confidential nature of the circumstances' in which the information was provided and their 'obligations' to 'third parties'. The programme will return to our screens this autumn.
Huw Edwards faces a possible jail sentence after pleading guilty to making indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine.
Meanwhile, MailOnline last week revealed new claims that he sexually assaulted a man in the toilets of an exclusive private members' club - and then bragged that he 'liked the danger of getting caught' when urged to stop.
Edwards, 63, met up with a man behind his wife's back – and aggressively groped his penis while he went to the toilet during a lunch date.
Father-of-five Huw befriended the man on Instagram – and before their second lunch date texted him: 'You are getting assaulted later… 'I'm so f****** horny it's indecent.'
Giovanni Pernice (pictured) was described as 'unnecessarily cruel and mean' by his partner, Amanda Abbington
In an exclusive interview, the man told MailOnline about the sex attack he suffered in the high-profile Ivy Members Club in the West End of London as they had lunch there in January 2022.
The man started following Edwards, who earned £475,000-a-year as one of the most recognisable faces on British television, anchoring national events like the general election and the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, on Instagram in early 2021.
He was aged 27 at the time and almost immediately got a direct message back from the BBC star saying 'Welcome.'
After a few weeks of exchanging Instagram messages, the two then swapped phone numbers and started using WhatsApp to communicate.
Speaking about his encounter, the man said: 'Huw followed me into the toilets of the Ivy Club where we were eating and while I was standing at the urinals, he grabbed my penis and attempted to masturbate me.
'I backed away. I was very shocked because this was not in a cubicle, it was in the open urinals area. Anybody could have walked in. I asked him: 'What are you doing? Please stop.' But he just kept on saying: 'I like the danger of getting caught.' And then he said: 'I love you.'
He went on: 'One of the most shocking things was how brazenly aggressive he was. I think he got off on the fact that he was a powerful figure and that he could get away with grabbing me in the toilets like that.'
Edwards was approached for comment.
