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Telegraph
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Gregg Wallace: I'm not a groper, sex pest or flasher
Former MasterChef host Gregg Wallace has pledged to clear his name following his sacking from the BBC and said: 'I'm not a groper, a sex pest or a flasher.' The 60-year-old defended himself and described being grouped with sex offenders Jimmy Savile and Huw Edwards as 'horrific'. In his first interview with The Sun at his home in Kent, he said his aim in speaking out was not 'to play the victim'. Wallace lost his job following complaints from a number of women over the years. 'There's so much that I want to say, and so much that I want to put right, if I can,' he said. 'I'm not saying I'm not guilty of stuff, but so much has been perceived incorrectly. Things that really hurt me and hurt my family.' The former TV star, who did not take a fee for the interview, added: 'I'm not a groper. 'People think I've been taking my trousers down and exposing myself – I am not a flasher. 'People think I'm a sex pest. 'I am not. 'I am not sexist or a misogynist, or any of it. 'There never were any accusations of sexual harassment. 'I have seen myself written about in the same sentence as Jimmy Savile and Huw Edwards, paedophiles and sex offenders. 'That is just so, so horrific.' 'I don't expect any sympathy' Wallace, who is married to wife Anna and has a six-year-old son, Sid, said he was still learning about himself and had done so over the past eight months as he was diagnosed with autism back in January. 'I know I have said things that offended people, that weren't socially acceptable and perhaps they felt too intimidated or nervous to say anything at the time,' he said. 'I understand that now – and to anyone I have hurt, I am so sorry. 'I don't expect anyone to have any sympathy with me but I don't think I am a wrong 'un.' A total of 45 of 83 complaints have been upheld in the wake of a report into Wallace's behaviour by law firm Lewis Silkin. The complaints were made by 41 people and during the course of his career he worked with 4,000 people, who were cast, crew and production; 0.5 per cent of people had criticised him. But he admitted the figure was too high. He also lent his support to former MasterChef co-host John Torode and said: 'He's not a racist.'
The Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Shamed Gregg Wallace says ‘I'm no groper, sex pest or flasher,' as tearful star refuses to accept blame for BBC sacking
FORMER MasterChef host Gregg Wallace has pleaded his innocence, telling The Sun in a tearful interview: 'I'm not a groper, a sex pest or a flasher.' The 60-year-old, sacked by the BBC after a probe into allegations of bad behaviour, said he wanted to clear his name but is 'not looking to play the victim'. 12 Wallace says he has been unfairly bracketed with sex offenders Jimmy Savile and Huw Edwards, adding: 'That's so horrific.' The ex- MasterChef host spoke out in his first interview since the BBC sacked him following complaints from multiple women over several years. He says: 'There's so much that I want to say, and so much that I want to put right, if I can. 'I'm not saying I'm not guilty of stuff, but so much has been perceived incorrectly. Things that really hurt me and hurt my family.' Wallace — who has not been paid for this interview — adds from his home in Kent: ' I'm not a groper. People think I've been taking my trousers down and exposing myself — I am not a flasher. 'People think I'm a sex pest. I am not. I am not sexist or a misogynist, or any of it. 'There never were any accusations of sexual harassment. 'I have seen myself written about in the same sentence as Jimmy Savile and Huw Edwards, paedophiles and sex offenders. That is just so, so horrific.' He adds from his sitting room, dotted with photos of wife Anna and six-year-old son Sid: 'I have learnt a lot about myself over the past eight months or so, and I'm still learning. 'I know I have said things that offended people, that weren't socially acceptable and perhaps they felt too intimidated or nervous to say anything at the time. 'We'll never work with him again', blast BBC as Gregg Wallace report reveals 'substantial' allegations over 19 YEARS 'I understand that now — and to anyone I have hurt, I am so sorry. 'I don't expect anyone to have any sympathy with me but I don't think I am a wrong 'un.' During our interview, Wallace flips between anger and remorse, and bursts into tears when talking about the fall-out for his family. He also backs axed MasterChef co-host John Torode, saying: 'He's not a racist.' The report into Wallace's conduct, from law firm Lewis Silkin, saw 45 of 83 complaints upheld. In total, 41 people complained. But he says: 'I've worked with around 4,000 people — cast, crew, production — which means 0.5 per cent of people found fault with me. 'That means in a room of 200 people, one person complained about my knob joke. It sounds a lot, but you have to consider that I don't work in an office.' However, Wallace does accept that this 0.5 per cent is too many. The timeline of allegations does not make for pretty reading. 12 12 One of the worst, which was upheld, was that he groped a woman. Wallace claims he was attempting to flirt, recalling: 'It was 15 years ago. Me, drunk, at a party, with my hand on a girl's bum. 'This girl told me about an affair she was having with a married man who was part of the Conservative government. I can't remember who it was. 'She gave me her phone number. I considered that to be intimacy. I was single at the time . . . well, I was dating, but I wasn't married. Now, even in the report, it says, 'Gregg believes this contact to be consensual'. So, listen, drag me out into the marketplace and stone me now.' 'Jovial and crude' Wallace is also keen to point out that he isn't a flasher. The moment he paraded around the MasterChef studio with a sock on his willy has been heavily reported. He says: 'Yes, that's one of the three upheld, the one with a sock on. Can I clarify what that is though? That was 18 years ago. The studio is shut, there's no contestants.' He said outside his dressing-room door was a sofa with four of his mates from the show on it, including Monica Galetti. He went on: 'I was getting changed to go to a black tie event, a charity event. I put my bow tie on and my shirt. It's only them outside the door. I put the sock on, opened the door, went, 'Wahey!' and shut the door again. 'The people interviewed were either amused or bemused. Nobody was distressed.' He takes a dimmer view of other allegations, including claims he dropped his trousers in front of a lady named as Alice by a BBC News investigation. He rages: 'That really damaged me. In the investigation, it says this person's story is simply not credible.' Wallace accepts he regularly got changed in front of people, and showed off his six-pack. One of the main threads of the upheld accusations is the use of sexualised or inappropriate language. He accepts all of these - and blames his background. It was 15 years ago. Me, drunk, at a party, with my hand on a girl's bum Gregg Wallace Wallace insists: 'I'm a green-grocer from Peckham. 'I thrived in Covent Garden's Fruit and Veg Market. 'In that environment that is jovial and crude. It is learned behaviour. 'And that's exactly the persona I brought into the workplace. Nobody ever asked me to change. 'MasterChef was a big hit. They gave me Celebrity MasterChef. That's a big hit. They gave me Professional MasterChef. It's a big hit. They gave me Eat Well for Less. They gave me Inside the Factory. I've got five returnable series. 'They're all big hits, and every day I'm giving them what I think they want. It's jokes, it's banter. 'It's relaxing virtually everybody I work with and we're getting good interaction with them.' 12 12 12 In January Wallace was formally diagnosed with autism, and he admits he is 'learning every day' about it. He sticks by his awkward claim that his refusal to wear underwear was down to that. Devastated by backlash Wallace says: 'I never wear pants', before raising his short- covered leg as if to demonstrate. 'I'm not wearing socks either.' I tell him to keep his leg down. Bemused he adds: 'Somehow everybody has sexualised this as well. It's not sexualised. It's hypersensitivity — that happens with autism.' Autism charities have dropped him, with some saying it is not 'a hall-pass for bad behaviour'. Wallace understands but has been devastated by the backlash. Having spent two-and-a-half hours with him, I believe he is severely on the spectrum. He repeatedly tells me off for interrupting — fair enough — and he is adamant we start the interview his way, which sees him nervously reading scribbled-down thoughts from scraps of paper. I arrived at his home not expecting to like him but left liking him. He peppers every conversation with slightly painful jokes, including: 'What do you call a judge with no thumbs? Justice Fingers!' Another sees him making a curled-finger hand gesture, asking: 'What is this? A microwave!' I'm still none the wiser. He is like a schoolboy desperate to please without being malicious. I previously wrote about a bruising encounter on a journalists' special of MasterChef in 2014 in which I'd accused him of making me feel deeply uncomfortable. I read out some of my criticism, saying I felt he 'gas-lit' me. Wallace appears confused as he asks me what that means. He replies after a beat: 'I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. "We were playing pantomime roles, I was playing up to it. I had no idea you felt that way, I honestly struggle to read people. 'I know I am odd. I know I struggle to read people. I know people find me weird. Autism is a disability, a registered disability. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not real.' One of the claims that hurt him most — and saw him trolled mercilessly — was when Sir Rod Stewart publicly said he had bullied his wife Penny Lancaster on Celebrity MasterChef four years ago. He says it was not upheld, adding: 'It was us having a disagreement over whether an orchid should stay in a bowl of soup.' Sighing, he goes on: 'I'm actually a Rod Stewart fan. I've been to see him twice. So that hurt me. Somebody like that carries a lot of weight. But there was no bullying and no harassing.' DAVIE WON'T MIX WITH LIKES OF ME By Clemmie Moodie BBC Director-General Tim Davie failed to get in touch with Gregg Wallace after his sacking, he claims. Wallace also hit out at the decision to pay off disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards. And he accused the organisation of being out of touch with working-class people. He said: 'I haven't heard from Tim at all. 'I think people like Tim were told that if they worked hard at school, they wouldn't have to mix with people like me. 'The BBC right now, absolutely everybody's been to Guatemala and nobody's been to Lewisham. 'I don't have an uncle who works for the BBC who's doing me any favours. They gave me big shows and they were all a success. So it was a massive shock to me in 2018 to find that what I was doing could cause problems.' Wallace was dismissed by production firm Banijay and did not receive a pay-out. While not disputing this, he is angry they paid off Edwards. He added: 'Huw Edwards received a £200,000 pay off after he was arrested — I didn't get so much as a pat on the back and a tenner. 'I'm not complaining, I'm pointing out a fact. I'm not looking to play the victim.' There was also a 2018 complaint from his time on BBC One's Impossible Celebrities, where he told a female employee she was 'very bright and very pretty' and was 'rude' to the show's production runners. He says: 'I asked for a healthy lunch and they gave me a packaged sandwich I didn't want so I was a bit cross.' Another complaint referred to him asking a model what she ate in a day to stay so thin. The BBC sent him on a course which was, he claims, like 'telling someone with a heart condition to go and fix their own heart rate'. I'm scared' He adds: 'They told me about how to interact with young people. 'My problem was that I saw myself the same as them, but they weren't perceiving me the same as them. They saw me as a position of authority. So I was being too familiar and I was told I shouldn't try to talk to them about what they might be doing at the weekend or where they're going on holiday because I might be forcing them to converse with me on personal details that they might not want to give. 'And I didn't know I was autistic at the time. So all that did was just confuse the living daylights out of me. So from that point on, I just stopped talking to young people because I realised that I was working in a complaints culture. 'And if I could get in serious trouble for telling a girl she was attractive, what would happen if I went out drinking with people and said something political or sexual? 'So I just stopped talking to young people. In fact, I stopped socialising on MasterChef. It just panicked me.' From then on, there was only one allegation of inappropriate behaviour. Wallace has, he says, spent the past seven years 'hiding behind my sofa reading history books'. Since the scandal broke, he says he has been scared to go out 'in case people, who think I'm a sex pest, abuse me in the street'. He went on: 'The first time I went to the gym afterwards I was shaking. I have been so scared. I go out now in a disguise — a baseball cap and sunglasses, I don't want people to see me. I'm scared.' Wallace also admits a level of guilt for what happened to his Aussie co-star John, who had an allegation of racism upheld against him during the investigation. He storms: 'I've known John for 30 years and he is not a racist. 'And as evidence of that, I'll show you the incredible diversity of the people that he has championed, MasterChef winners, over the years. There is no way that man is a racist. No way. And my sympathies go out to John because I don't want anybody to go through what I've been through.' Following the investigation, Wallace unfollowed John and his wife Lisa Faulkner on social media. He says: 'We never really did get on that well. 'We're two very, very different characters. But we made bloody good telly together for 20 years.' Wallace says that the only positive from this is getting to spend more time with his non-verbal autistic son Sid. He admits he wished he had stayed in his former profession instead of embarking on a TV career. He says: 'My biggest, biggest regret is that I ever went anywhere near a television studio — I was doing just fine as a greengrocer." 12 Gregg Wallace - MasterChef scandal in Brief GREGG Wallace has stepped down from his MasterChef hosting role after a probe into alleged inappropriate behaviour. But what's the situation? Regular MasterChef host Gregg Wallace is currently the subject of a probe after an investigation was launched into his alleged misconduct over a number of years. Gregg has been accused of making sexual remarks to 13 colleagues including Beeb anchor Kirsty Wark - accusations he denies. The 60-year-old has now stepped away from the BBC show while historical misconduct allegations against him are investigated. Yet the former greengrocer spoke out on social media to blast the "women of a certain age" who he claimed were behind the allegations. The cooking show's production company, Banijay UK, has said law firm Lewis Silkin would lead the investigation into Wallace's alleged misconduct.
The Guardian
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Tim Davie insists he is still right person to lead BBC after series of scandals
Tim Davie has insisted he is still the right person to lead the BBC, after a succession of controversies that have led the culture secretary to accuse him of overseeing a 'series of catastrophic failures'. Davie has been under the most intense pressure of his five-year tenure as director general after incidents including the livestreaming of Bob Vylan's performance at the Glastonbury festival, as well as the broadcast of a Gaza documentary that breached the corporation's editorial guidelines. This week, the BBC also admitted opportunities were missed to deal with the behaviour of Gregg Wallace, after an independent report substantiated 45 allegations made against the former MasterChef presenter, including claims of inappropriate sexual language and one incident of unwelcome physical contact. It has led to criticism from the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, who suggested the corporation was suffering from a failure in leadership. However, Davie insisted there had been consequences for staff responsible for the Glastonbury broadcast and a Gaza documentary that failed to disclose that its child narrator was the son of a Hamas official. Speaking at the launch of the BBC's annual report, Davie said he had already taken action to improve the culture at the BBC after previous high-profile scandals such as the departure of the disgraced presenter Huw Edwards – including the dismissal of staff. In a defence of his performance, Davie said the controversy around Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone had been the most challenging he had dealt with during his tenure. However, he said he was the right person to lead the BBC as it faced an onslaught of competition from streamers and a continued decline in the number of households paying the licence fee. 'I simply think I'm in a place where I can work to improve dramatically the BBC and lead it in the right way,' he said. 'We will make mistakes, but I think as a leadership, and myself, I've been very clear – and I think we have been decisive. 'When you go through tough times, one of the things that I focus on as a leader is there has never been a more important time for public service broadcasting. Gaza has been the most challenging editorial issue I've had to deal with. But the importance of fair, balanced reporting, the need for high-quality homegrown programming in the face of massive pressure, has never, ever been greater. 'I believe my leadership and the team I've assembled can really help the BBC thrive in that environment.' Davie said the BBC had 'already seen dismissals' as a result of an action plan drawn up after a series of scandals around conduct, including the Edwards scandal. The former presenter ultimately pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. Neither Davie nor Samir Shah, the chair of the BBC, would name any individuals who had lost their jobs. Davie said action was also being taken against senior figures involved in the Gaza failing and the livetreaming of Bob Vylan at Glastonbury. Pascal Robinson-Foster, who goes by the name Bobby Vylan as part of the duo, was shown leading chants of 'death, death to the IDF', referring to the Israel Defense Forces. Davie faces another difficult decision over the future of the latest series of MasterChef, which has already been delivered to the BBC and in which Wallace features almost throughout. The decision has become even more difficult after the show's other presenter, John Torode, announced he was the subject of an allegation of using racist language. He denies the incident happened. Davie said MasterChef's producer, Banijay, had to 'follow up' on the allegation and report back to the BBC. He said he had made no decision over the series but was concerned about the effort put in by the amateur chefs involved. 'One of my overwhelming concerns is that we've got all the amateur chefs that gave their heart and soul to this programme,' he said. 'We have to reflect on that, talk to them – and I'm sure Banijay are doing that – consult them, think about the audience, and then make a call. That's what we're going through now.' He said there was a future for the show. 'A great programme that's well loved by audiences is much bigger than individuals,' he said. The BBC's annual report highlighted the strengths and serious challenges the BBC faces as streaming and YouTube continue to split audiences. The BBC is still managing to reach 94% of UK adults every month, while its digital platform iPlayer was the UK's fastest-growing long-form on-demand service last year. However, the number of households paying the BBC licence fee fell for a seventh consecutive year, down 300,000, the report stated.
The Sun
15-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
BBC looks at licence fee overhaul as whopping 300,000 fewer Brits sign up for £174.50 a year cost
THE BBC is looking into a licence fee overhaul with hundreds of thousands of households refusing to pay up. The broadcaster's annual report released today says competition from streaming services has created a "moment of real jeopardy for the sector". 1 An estimated 300,000 households have stopped paying. The report revealed 23.8m licences were in force at the end of the year, down from 24.1m in 2023-24. The drop means a loss of about £50m in revenue for the corporation. It comes as BBC Director-General Tim Davie was shown to have been given a £15,000 annual pay rise despite a string of controversies. And departing Match of the Day host Gary Lineker ended his time with the Corporation by topping its pay league for the eighth consecutive year, raking in £1.35million. Key points in the BBC Annual Report Gary Lineker has topped the list of highest earners for another year He was followed by Zoe Ball, who remains second best-paid at the Beeb despite her dramatic pay cut More than two thirds of the broadcaster's top 20 earners received pay rises BBC Breakfast star Naga Munchetty received a boost to her pay, but co-host Charlie Stayt's salary stayed the same Disgraced presenter Huw Edwards did not feature on the list after his exit from the broadcaster Meanwhile the number of people paying for a TV licence fell by around 300,000 last year - almost two per cent in all BBC boss Tim Davie breaks silence on MasterChef future as John Torode asked to quit over 'racist remark' BBC Chair Samir Shah says in the annual report: 'The fight is on, and it is vital we now think very carefully about the kind of media environment we want for the UK.' He added they were searching for 'the best future funding model for the BBC'. Shah said: 'I have already set out some views on this and the board will be saying more over the coming months,' he said. Masterchef meltdown as BBC asked John Torode to RESIGN over 'racist remark' before Gregg Wallace sacking 'But all of us are clear that we want to make sure we protect the BBC as a universal service and help it not just to survive, but thrive, for a generation and more.' Licence fee income increased slightly year on year, totalling £3.8bn in 2024-25. However, the small rise was down to the 6.7% inflationary increase in the fee to £169.50 a year. 'The current collection method remains fair, effective, and good value for money,' the report said. 'As we approach the end of the charter, we will proactively research how we might reform the licence fee to secure the benefits of a well-resourced, universal BBC of scale for the long term.' 'Inappropriate behaviours' Today's report also features a column by Dr Shah in which he references the "profoundly shocking revelations" involving disgraced News At Ten anchor Huw Edwards. He announced in October the Beeb's board had commissioned an independent review into its "workplace culture". It came in the wake of Edwards, as well as "several further cases of inappropriate behaviours and abuses of power", Dr Shah wrote. In his column, he added: "The first thing to say is that the BBC is a wonderful place to work. "Our staff are dedicated, hardworking and treat each other with respect. "However, there are pockets in the organisation where this is not the case. There are still places where powerful individuals - on and off-screen - can abuse that power to make life for their colleagues unbearable." It comes after former MasterChef host Wallace launched a scathing attack on the broadcaster and threatened his "next move" yesterday after he was sacked. The one-time greengrocer turned TV personality, 60, was axed after an investigation upheld 45 out of the 83 allegations made against him. The bombshell inquiry, carried out by law firm Lewis Silkin for production company Banijay, unveiled a litany of complaints against him. Most of them involved inappropriate sexual language and humour and a further 10 were made about other people - two of which were substantiated. Davie was also asked today about whether Wallace's co-host John Torode would remain on the show, after the presenter confirmed on Instagram he had a standalone allegation of racist language upheld in the same report. The director-general said: "There has to be follow-up, so the BBC, in some ways, we're quite simple on this, if someone is found to not live up to the values we expect, the independent company, Banijay, in this case, to take action and report back to us on what they have done. "These aren't BBC employees, but we absolutely expect action to be taken, that's the first thing I'd say." 'Get a grip quicker' Last week BBC bosses were told to "get a grip quicker" after the live stream of punk rap duo Bob Vylan's Glastonbury set was left on air despite controversial comments which some interpreted as antisemitic. Ofcom boss Dame Melanie Dawes insisted there is a risk the public lose faith in the corporation if coverage isn't pulled swiftly and investigations are lengthy. The broadcaster had apologised after the band's lead singer chanted 'death, death' to Israeli defence forces during their festival set last month. The regulator also stepped in to launch a probe into Beeb doc Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, which faced backlash when it was revealed the narrator was the son of a Hamas official. The BBC previously admitted to breaching their own editorial guidelines by failing to disclose this to viewers. An independent probe into the documentary was commissioned by the broadcaster earlier this year. The broadcaster spent £400,000 of licence payers' cash making the doc, which was branded a propaganda show for the evil terror group Hamas, The Sun revealed in February. In a shocking revelation, the main narrator of the heart-tugging, supposedly factual exposé - 13-year-old Abdulla Eliyazour - was the son of senior Hamas official Dr Ayman Al-Yazouri.
The Guardian
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Tim Davie insists he is still right person to lead BBC after series of scandals
Tim Davie has insisted he is still the right person to lead the BBC, after a succession of issues that has seen the culture secretary accuse him of overseeing a 'series of catastrophic failures'. The BBC's director general has been under the most intense pressure of his five-year tenure after incidents including the livestreaming of Bob Vylan's performance at the Glastonbury festival, as well as a Gaza documentary that breached the broadcaster's editorial guidelines. This week, the BBC also admitted opportunities were missed to deal with the behaviour of Gregg Wallace, after an independent report substantiated 45 allegations made against the former MasterChef presenter, including claims of inappropriate sexual language and one incident of unwelcome physical contact. It has led to criticism from the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, who suggested the corporation was suffering from a failure in leadership. However, Davie insisted there had been consequences for staff responsible for the Glastonbury broadcast and a Gaza documentary that failed to disclose its child narrator was the son of a Hamas official. Speaking at the launch of the BBC's annual report, Davie said he had already taken action to improve the culture at the BBC after previous high-profile scandals such as the departure of disgraced presenter Huw Edwards – including the dismissal of staff. In a defence of his performance, Davie said the controversy around Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone had been the most challenging he had dealt with during his tenure. However, he said he was the right person to lead the BBC as it faced an onslaught of competition from streamers and a continued decline in the number of households paying the licence fee. 'I simply think I'm in a place where I can work to improve dramatically the BBC and lead it in the right way,' he said. 'We will make mistakes, but I think as a leadership, and myself, I've been very clear – and I think we have been decisive. 'When you go through tough times, one of the things that I focus on as a leader is there has never been a more important time for public service broadcasting. Gaza has been the most challenging editorial issue I've had to deal with. But the importance of fair, balanced reporting, the need for high-quality homegrown programming in the face of massive pressure, has never, ever been greater. 'I believe my leadership and the team I've assembled can really help the BBC thrive in that environment.' Davie said the BBC had 'already seen dismissals' as a result of an action plan drawn up after a series of scandals around conduct, including the Edwards scandal. The former presenter ultimately pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. Neither Davie, nor Samir Shah, the chair of the BBC, would name any individuals who had lost their jobs. Davie said action was also being taken against senior figures involved in the Gaza failing and the live streaming of Bob Vylan at Glastonbury. Pascal Robinson-Foster, who goes by the name Bobby Vylan as part of the duo, was shown leading chants of 'death, death to the IDF', referring to the Israel Defense Forces. Davie faces another difficult decision over the future of the latest series of MasterChef, which has already been delivered to the BBC and in which Wallace features almost throughout. The decision has become even more difficult after the show's other presenter, John Torode, announced that he was the subject of a substantiated allegation of using racist language. He denies the incident happened. Davie said MasterChef's producer, Banijay, had to 'follow up' on the allegation and report back to the BBC. He said he had made no decision over the series, but was concerned about the effort put in by the amateur chefs involved. 'One of my overwhelming concerns is that we've got all the amateur chefs that gave their heart and soul to this programme,' he said. 'We have to reflect on that, talk to them – and I'm sure Banijay are doing that – consult them, think about the audience, and then make a call. That's what we're going through now.' He said there was a future for the show. 'A great programme that's well loved by audiences is much bigger than individuals,' he said. The BBC's annual report highlighted the strengths and serious challenges the BBC faces as streaming and YouTube continue to split audiences. The BBC is still managing to reach 94% of UK adults every month, while its digital platform iPlayer was the UK's fastest-growing long-form on-demand service last year. However, the number of households paying the BBC licence fee fell for the seventh consecutive year, down 300,000, the report stated.
