The BBC has contacted the Met Police over allegations an unnamed presenter paid a teenager for sexually explicit images.
The presenter, who remains anonymous, is said to be a well-known figure and has been accused of paying over £35,000 (€40,944) to the person, who is now 20 years old.
The anonymous star allegedly began the payments when the person was 17.
In a statement on Sunday evening, the London Metropolitan Police said: “The Met has received initial contact from the BBC in relation to this matter, but no formal referral or allegation has been made.
“We will require additional information before determining what further action should follow.”
Since the allegations came to light, the broadcaster has confirmed a male member of staff has been suspended.
A host of well-known faces have also spoken out to deny they’re the BBC presenter in question – including Rylan Clark and Gary Lineker.
In a statement over the weekend, the BBC said: “The BBC takes any allegations seriously and we have robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations.”
“This is a complex and fast-moving set of circumstances and the BBC is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps. It is important that these matters are handled fairly and with care.”
“We have been clear that if – at any point – new information comes to light or is provided to us, this will be acted upon appropriately and actively followed up.”
“The BBC first became aware of a complaint in May. New allegations were put to us on Thursday of a different nature and in addition to our own enquiries we have also been in touch with external authorities, in line with our protocols. We can also confirm a male member of staff has been suspended.”
The allegations were first reported by The Sun newspaper, who interviewed the alleged victim’s mother.
The teen’s mother alleged that the money sent to them was used to fund a drug addiction, which made them go from “a happy go lucky youngster to a ghost-like crack addict.”
She told the outlet: “When I see [the presenter] on telly I feel sick. I blame the BBC for destroying my child’s life. Taking my child’s innocence and handing over the money for crack cocaine that could kill my child.”
