When he stepped into the role less than four years ago, Tim Davie may have foreseen that he was taking over an institution that could face further troubles – especially after the appalling acts of once-stars like Jimmy Savile.
But the incoming Director-General could scarcely have imagined in his darkest dreams that by taking on the title at the BBC in September 2020 he would one day be facing the living nightmare of the Huw Edwards child sex images scandal.
Edwards – one of the most trusted faces in public life – had been hiding a secret lust that saw him twice sent a video of a boy under nine among scores of other vile indecent pictures.
But while it is by far the worst, it is just one of many disasters the Director-General has been forced to tackle on his watch.
From revelations that the corporation had covered up Martin Bashir’s ‘deceitful behaviour’ in securing his 1995 Panorama interview with Princess Diana, to Strictly’s ongoing bullying scandal, he has been tasked again and again with trying to save the national broadcaster’s fraying reputation.
Director-general Tim Davie has had to tackle a number of disasters that have plagued the BBC in the last four years
Huw Edwards arriving at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London this week as police clear the way
The corporation, and Mr Davie specifically, have come under fire after it emerged they knew Edwards had been arrested in November over the most serious category of indecent images of children, and yet continued to employ him for five months.
Now, as Mr Davie rushes to save the broadcaster’s image a little too late, there are growing calls for him to step down.
Top English lawyer Nick Freeman today led calls for the Director-General to be fired for his ‘mishandling of the situation’.
He wrote on X: ‘Just as Huw Edwards should have been sacked, so should Tim Davie for his mishandling of the situation. And is he now prepared to reimburse the taxpayer for his appalling ineptitude?’
From having to do damage-control over Gary Lineker’s constant controversial tweets, to dealing with the Strictly abuse revelations, this is not the first time the former marketing head has had to deal with scandal.
And PR guru Mark Borkowski says he feels for Mr Davie’s unfortunate position in what he calls an ‘unforgiving job’.
‘The problem with the brand is institutional. It is very hard for them to pivot in the face of controversy and just make a statement, they are bound by things like employer’s laws. A lot of it is to do with HR.
Calls have begun for Mr Davie to step down following his handling of the Huw Edwards scandal
Tim Davie arriving for work in November 2012 when he was the BBC’s Acting Director-General
‘To a certain extent, Tim Davie sits at the head of the corporation. But it’s a difficult situation because it involved such iconic personalities that everyone knows.
‘This latest scandal is an extremely upsetting incident, but Tim is governed by procedure.
‘They had to wait for a judgement, but of course, social media does not wait.’
Speaking of what Mr Davie and his team need to do to save the corporation’s reputation, he said: ‘Telegraphing how the BBC have to operate in scenarios like this in a transparent way might help people to understand how it works and how hard it is.
‘It has always been a challenge for anyone sitting at the top of the BBC. So empathy goes to Tim who doesn’t decide it all.
‘They’ve got to get more rigour in letting people know how it works. Let people know there are strict processes governed by human resources that doesn’t allow them to pivot and react instantly. They are lumbered by various levels of procedure.
‘It’s about regaining trust, instead of making a short statement and then running off and hiding.
‘Ultimately, it’s an unforgiving job. It’s never been easy to be a Director-General at the BBC, and continues to be one of most difficult jobs in British media and TV.’
The disgraced BBC anchorman pleaded guilty earlier this week to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine
The text messages said to have been sent to a junior colleague
Just last week, the Director-General was forced to apologise to Strictly Come Dancing contestants following complaints of abusive behaviour taking place on the show.
The show has been engulfed by drama since Giovanni Pernice was suspended after his celebrity partner Amanda Abbington accused him of abusive behaviour, saying he was ‘cruel and mean’ – claims which he denies.
It is part of a string of abuse allegations on the show, with dancer Graziano Di Prima sacked last month over reports he verbally and physically abused Zara McDermott during rehearsals.
Graziano has since apologised for kicking his former partner and added other allegations do not align with ‘how he remembers it’.
On Monday, the BBC show was thrown into further crises after backstage staff branded it ‘toxic and cruel’.
It’s been said that ‘talented co-workers were treated with cruelty’, while the environment was described as ‘tense, toxic, uncomfortable’.
As the BBC boss broke silence on the scandal last week, he said ‘I’m sorry’.
Chaperones will now be introduced to rehearsals in an attempt to protect similar incidents from occurring.
Addressing the controversy, Mr Davie said: ‘I’m very sorry that anyone has had a experience on Strictly that hasn’t been wholly positive.
‘There are limits and the line should never be crossed. We will never tolerate unacceptable behaviour of any kind.’
Strictly Come Dancing has been engulfed by drama since Giovanni Pernice was suspended after his celebrity partner Amanda Abbington accused him of abusive behaviour, saying he was ‘cruel and mean.’ He denies the claims
It was followed by Graziano Di Prima’s sacking last month over reports he verbally and physically abused Zara McDermott during rehearsals. Graziano has apologised for kicking his former partner and added other allegations do not align with ‘how he remembers it’
Strictly Come Dancing was thrown into more crisis on Monday as backstage staff branded the scandal-plagued show ‘toxic and cruel’
Following the two major controversies that have taken headlines in recent months, BBC staff have been handed dossiers full of guidelines on how to report ‘potential grooming’ and ‘rumours or evidence of a potential relationship involving an imbalance of power’.
But Mr Davie’s first big scandal at the BBC to take on came when the corporation was accused of covering up thousands of emails over Martin Bashir’s Princess Diana interview.
When the Bashir scandal erupted in 2020, the BBC repeatedly said that it could not ask the former Panorama reporter questions because he was ‘seriously unwell’. His medical condition allegedly provided bosses with a legal loophole not to disclose more than 3,200 emails relevant to the case under freedom of information laws.
But a tranche of emails revealed during a hearing in 2023 that managers were in regular discussion behind the scenes with the disgraced reporter. BBC chiefs were grilled for ‘arrogantly’ misleading the public over Bashir’s health to avoid tricky questions.
It came after in autumn 2020 the Mail had been revealing details of how Bashir had lied and forged his way to clinch his 1995 interview with the princess, in which she famously said ‘there were three of us in this marriage’.
Tim Davie apologised for ‘multiple series failures’ in how Bashir secured the interview after an inquiry in 2021 criticised the BBC for falling short of ‘high standards of integrity and transparency’.
The BBC was also plunged into crisis when it came under criticism for covering up Martin Bashir’s ‘deceitful’ behaviour in obtaining the 1995 interview with Princess Diana
Yet another scandal Mr Davie has been plagued by is the sex abuse allegations against ex Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood.
Earlier this month, the BBC said it hopes findings of the independent inquiry into Mr Westwood’s conduct at the BBC will be published by the autumn – around two years after being commissioned.
Barrister Gemma White KC was appointed in August 2022 to look at the veteran hip hop DJ’s work at the BBC in the wake of sexual assault allegations against him going back four decades.
The BBC has spent more than £3million on the two-year investigation into alleged misconduct by the DJ. The corporation is working with the Metropolitan Police to see that the report does not have an ‘negative impact on any ongoing police investigation’.
The BBC revealed its target date for a report into sex abuse allegations against ex Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood (pictured) earlier this month
Tim Davie has on multiple occasions had to deal with controversy following Gary Lineker’s very outspoken tweets that critics say breach the broadcaster’s impartiality guidelines
Among other BBC presenters that caused controversy during Mr Davie’s time as boss is outspoken Match of the Day star Gary Lineker.
BBC chiefs were forced to talk to the commentator last year after he compared the Tory government’s policy on immigration to that of Nazi Germany and then ridiculed MPs who criticised him for ‘flouting impartiality rules’.
In a tweet in March last year, he called Suella Braverman’s measures to stop the small boats ‘beyond awful’ and ‘an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s’.
The Director-General was forced to suspend Lineker, though it triggered a walkout by BBC stars as the crisis deepened.
