BBC director-general Tim Davie has told MPs that “we may see more things coming out” after being asked for assurance there will not be another “scandal of BBC talent abusing their position”.
He told the Culture, Media and Sport Committee: “I think things have changed since we last talked to the committee, we are seeing people call it out, and that is a positive change, but it’s ongoing work.
“I don’t think you can change culture in six months and suddenly say nothing’s going to occur.
“We may see more things coming out, because in some ways I’m asking for it, and being utterly transparent and running towards the problem, that’s what we need to do.”
Mr Davie, who was joined by BBC chair Samir Shah on Tuesday, faced questions on subjects including the corporation’s Gaza documentary, its Glastonbury coverage and the recent Gregg Wallace investigation, as well as this year’s Strictly Come Dancing line-up.
The BBC has faced a series of recent controversies, most prominently the sacking of MasterChef presenter Wallace after claims of inappropriate behaviour.
Presenter John Torode was later axed from the show after an allegation that he used an “extremely offensive racist term”.
On Monday, it was announced that restaurant critic Grace Dent and Irish chef Anna Haugh will be fronting the forthcoming series.
Gregg Wallace. Pic: NetStorage
‘No one is irreplaceable – absolutely no one’
On the question of top talent being treated as irreplaceable, Mr Shah said: “No one is irreplaceable. Absolutely no one, seriously, no one”.
Mr Davie added: “We’re all dispensable. That’s an absolute, unequivocal position being given to the whole BBC.”
He also stressed: “We don’t call them talent… Everyone is talent.”
When asked about the decision to air the latest series of MasterChef, with Wallace and Torode still at the helm, Mr Davie said it was “a tough call,” but insisted it was the right decision “on balance” because the “vast majority” of contestants wanted the programme to go out.
Mr Davie added: “I think the consequences for the individuals who presented have been very significant. They no longer work with the BBC.”
The corporation also found itself in hot water in July after it breached its editorial guidelines over a Gaza documentary that was narrated by the child of a Hamas official.
Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone aired on the BBC in February but was pulled from iPlayer after it emerged that the child narrator was the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who has worked as Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture.
Mr Davie called the broadcast of the documentary, which was made by independent production company Hoyo Films, “a bad mistake”, and said the BBC had “executed the recommendations”, adding, “there are people who are facing consequences”.
When asked about Israel refusing to allow journalists into Gaza, Mr Davie said it was “unacceptable”, calling coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, “the toughest coverage challenge we have ever faced”.
BBC accused of ‘disrespect’ over Gaza: Doctors Under Attack
A second documentary was also discussed, Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, which was commissioned by the BBC but subsequently shelved. It was eventually aired by Channel 4 in July.
It was suggested the corporation had been “overcautious” in their decision not to air the film, an accusation Mr Davie denied. He said the BBC have a different set of guidelines from Channel 4.
Labour MP for Ealing Central and Acton, Dr Rupa Huq, claimed the documentary was recently “the most asked about thing” at a recent BBC all-staff meeting, and called the corporation’s treatment of the film: “A disrespect for small, independent work done with integrity that you sit on it for months, give some spurious reason and another channel covers it.”
Bob Vylan performing on the West Holts Stage. Pic: PA
Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury set: ‘We’re not broadcasting this guy’
In June, the livestreaming of the controversial Bob Vylan set at Glastonbury, when the band led chants of “death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)”, resulted in the BBC announcing it would stop broadcasting “high risk” performances live.
When questioned about Vylan’s controversial set, Mr Davie insisted, “I don’t think I misread [the situation]”.
He said the Vylan performance was “absolutely an antisemitic broadcast”, was “deeply disturbing”, and admitted “the BBC made a very significant mistake”.
Describing the situation as it played out, Mr Davie said when he became aware of the issue at around 5pm on the afternoon of the live broadcast, his approach was “very quick”.
He said: “My decision was to get that off on demand, simple as that, I mean, it wasn’t too complicated in my mind. We’re not broadcasting this guy. I think I did the right thing.”
Speaking to the decision of BBC staff to continue broadcasting the set despite the chants, Mr Davie said he had to be “proportionate” in his judgement following an ongoing investigation, but said there will be “consequences for individuals that we’re working through at the moment”.
‘Teflon Tim’ sticks to his guns – but shows his spikes
It’s been quite a year to be the director general, with Tim Davie having to steer the corporation through a slew of dramas.
With critics calling for him to quit, his performance in parliament mattered.
In recent months, Davie has been christened with the somewhat dubious nickname of “Teflon Tim” by one tabloid newspaper over how his leadership seems to be impervious to the storms of controversy.
How did he fare facing a bombardment of questions over what went wrong? Well, while he largely appeared unflappable, at his most rattled he didn’t rule out that there might be more skeletons in the BBC’s closet.
His point-blank refusal to put a figure on the number of “emerging issues” being investigated involving talent coming across as spikey to say the least.
And he certainly wasn’t willing to accept any errors with how he handled news of Bob Vylan’s death chants at Glastonbury.
“I don’t think I misread it,” he stated matter of factly.
While MP Rupa Huq clearly found Davie’s explanation infuriating that the BBC’s decision to pull its documentary on Gaza came down to “a perception of partiality”.
It was an enlightening response she received to the question of whether he was worried about upsetting people by broadcasting it.
“If I was worried about upsetting people, I’d be in the wrong job,” he said.
The question is whether this performance in parliament is enough to silence those critics who argue there’s simply been one to many scandals happen under his watch.
At the same time as Mr Davie’s grilling by MPs, Bob Vylan frontman Bobby Vylan shared news of six upcoming performance dates in November and December, with the message: “After all the attempts to silence us, we’re about to be louder than ever. We won’t go quietly!”
In a separate message on X, he called Mr Davie, “a spineless puppet” and said: “There was nothing antisemitic or criminal about anything I said at Glastonbury.”
A police investigation into the performance is currently underway. Avon and Somerset Police told Sky News: “We recognise the strength of public feeling around what took place, and we hope the ongoing enquiries provide reassurance and show the seriousness with which we are treating this investigation.”
Thomas Skinner. Pic: PA
Davie on Strictly casting backlash: ‘We’ve cut the list down too far’
When asked about another editorial production call – the decision to cast ex-Apprentice contestant Tom Skinner on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing – Mr Davie said it was “not my decision” and that he “was not an expert on the individual per se”.
Mr Davie said it was decided by “the production team”, who “thought [Skinner] would be interesting to the audience”.
Skinner, who now has a large social media following, has previously shared posts saying it is “not far right” to be “flying your flag and loving your country”, and complaining “it ain’t safe out there anymore” in London.
Mr Davie said: “I think it’s fine to cast an individual as long as they’re within boundaries.”
When asked what those boundaries were, he said: “If someone has broadcast things that are totally unacceptable [and] racist, you know, we don’t want anywhere near our shows. That’s obvious. That’s what our [production] team have to judge.”
He added: “I don’t think it’s right to say, ‘We won’t have anyone who’s ever said anything that you either disagree with is slightly controversial on social media’. I don’t think that works, frankly. I just think we’ve cut the list down too far nowadays.”
When asked about public scrutiny of the BBC over the summer, Mr Davie, who has been in the corporation’s top job for five years, said: “If I said I wasn’t feeling the pressure, I would be inhuman.”
