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Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
BBC's Munchetty accused of bullying junior colleague
Naga Munchetty has been accused of bullying a junior colleague. The BBC Breakfast presenter, 50, was also allegedly reprimanded for making a sex jibe on Radio 5 Live. The series of claims about Munchetty were reported in The Sun following the announcement that Richard Frediani, the editor of BBC Breakfast and News at One, had taken a period of 'extended leave' following allegations of bullying made against him by the Deadline website. The Telegraph reported on Thursday that the BBC brought in an external consultant to help review the culture of its breakfast show. Sources said that the broadcaster's HR team had seconded a lawyer from PricewaterhouseCoopers to deal with the crisis. Munchetty is reported to be among the staff who have raised concerns about Frediani, who has been the subject of at least two misconduct complaints. Insiders described Frediani as 'a bruiser' who ran the breakfast show 'with an iron fist', according to Deadline. The toxic atmosphere had reportedly driven a wedge between Munchetty and Charlie Stayt, her co-presenter, according to The Sun. But some people who worked with Frediani were quick to defend the editor. One insider said: 'Maybe he has a different style but he wants the programme to be the best and for people to do the best job. Editors can get frustrated when they think that's not happening, and that frustration comes out in different ways. He's old-school. 'Perhaps what was acceptable in the past is no longer acceptable, and of course everybody has to move with the times.' Another added: 'There is definitely an atmosphere on Breakfast. It's an unhappy place. But is that really all down to Fredi? I don't think so.' Frediani has not commented on the allegations, which also include reports of shouting, swearing and screaming at colleagues. A BBC spokesman said: 'While we do not comment on individual cases, we take all complaints about conduct at work extremely seriously and will not tolerate behaviour that is not in line without values. 'We have robust processes in place, and would encourage any staff with concerns to raise them directly with us so they can be addressed.' The BBC is under pressure to conduct a thorough investigation because the allegations come only weeks after it published an independent review into workplace culture. Samir Shah, the corporation's chairman, said after publication of the review that there was no place at the BBC for those who 'abuse power or punch down or behave badly'. The review told of 'untouchable' star names who were allowed to get away with bad behaviour, but also referred to some executives. It said: 'We heard about a minority of people who behave unacceptably and whose behaviour is not addressed and impacts employees and freelancers. These people work in both on and off-air roles, dotted across the organisation in different functions and departments. 'They are often in positions where power could be abused. Even though they are small in number, their behaviour creates large ripples, which negatively impact the BBC's culture and external reputation. '[The BBC] states it has zero tolerance for unacceptable behaviour, but the words do not align with the actual experience of some people working with or for the corporation.'
The Sun
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
BBC Breakfast likened to ‘the Hunger Games' amid toxicity claims and Naga Munchetty bullying row
THE Sun's exposé on toxic BBC Breakfast has ripped a chasm through the show — with staff likening the workplace to Hunger Games. We told this week how editor Richard Frediani is on extended leave amid bullying claims, and separate complaints were made about host Naga Munchetty. 4 4 Crew are trapped in the middle as the scandal has triggered stories from opposing sides. Staff are terrified about what is going to come out in case they are caught in the crossfire. A source said: 'Breakfast is no longer just divided, it's been ripped apart. "Some workers back Frediani's tougher, more traditional journalistic approach and think the 'softies' need thicker skin. 'Others find him to be a bully and have welcomed the investigation into his behaviour. That already created two camps on the show. But the revelations about Naga have thrown a new twist on the scandal. 'Some find her a passionate advocate of people behind the scenes, while others find her as difficult as Fredi. 'This explosive mix has led to a deluge of revelations from both sides, creating a huge headache for the BBC as it scrambles to mop up the mess. It's everyone for themselves like the Hunger Games.' Naga arrived for work promptly yesterday despite our front page on two complaints lodged against her for bullying and making a slang term for a sexual act. Viewers noticed Naga, 50, and co-host, Charlie Stayt, 63, failed to browse the day's newspapers, as is customary. She also looked tense as the pair smoked cigarettes outside the Salford studio. Naga, who has also worked across Radio 5 Live, was hauled before bosses for the incidents in 2022 and 2024 and reprimanded but no formal action was taken. Her supporters believe she is at the 'end of her tether' with the fractious working environment. They add: 'Naga finds the whole situation frustrating, particularly with Fredi. 'She is passionate about speaking up if she believes something is wrong, has spoken to people who are unhappy and is always trying to help others behind the scenes.' However, another insider has shared opinion that Frediani's tough leadership may be a response to Naga's behaviour, not the cause of the problem. The source said: 'Managing Naga is a full-time job. She makes it incredibly hard to do the job and when Fredi tries to enforce boundaries and run a tight ship, he gets accused of being draconian. 'People are too scared to challenge her, because of who she is.' Among the divide are those who are just trying to uphold the BBC's standards on the show. A separate source said: 'The fact remains that bad behaviour is bad behaviour and no one — be it bosses, talent, crew — should be above reproach.' BBC said: 'While we do not comment on individual cases, we take all complaints about conduct at work extremely seriously.' Naga and Frediani's representatives were approached for comment. 4
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The talented ‘tyrant' giving BBC Breakfast a wake-up call
May 11 marked the high point in the career of Richard Frediani, the BBC Breakfast editor. His programme, which he has run since 2019, won the Bafta for best TV news coverage for its reporting on the Post Office scandal — the first time the gong had gone to an early morning show. 'Thank you, Bafta, for recognising the importance of breakfast TV,' a visibly moved Frediani told the great and the good at London's Royal Festival Hall. 'Breakfast TV in the UK has been around for more than 40 years, and it has never won this award.' Frediani brought some of his colleagues, including presenter Jon Kay, on stage and praised them as the people 'who toil through the night, every night, 24 hours a day, seven days a week' to get the show out. It is a little less than six weeks after that golden night and, rather than bask in his glory, Frediani is fighting to save his career. The executive has been accused of bullying and misconduct on the programme's set in Salford, while rumours swirl that his relationships with star presenters Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt have broken down. Claims that he had presided over an 'intimidating and bullying' culture at BBC Breakfast first surfaced five years ago, but scrutiny has intensified in recent months as a steady drip of allegations have led to him taking an 'extended period of leave' from the show. Frediani, who is widely known as 'Fredi' in the TV industry, has been accused of physically shaking a female colleague, shouting at subordinates if they make mistakes and kicking a bin in a moment of frustration. A formal complaint was made against Frediani about the former incident, which happened in February last year. Frediani was given control over BBC One's News at One bulletin when it moved to Salford a few weeks later. Munchetty had raised concerns with bosses about Frediani, according to industry website Deadline, while the newsreader Tina Daheley has refused to appear on the News at One despite being announced as a presenter on the bulletin last year. Frediani has variously been described as 'a tyrant', 'a bruiser', 'old-school' and 'aggressive'. One allegation against Frediani is that he cornered a colleague against a wall and jabbed a finger at them while complaining about that morning's show; another is that he has cultivated a 'boys' club' and has his favourites. The Sun quoted a source as saying: 'He is very cerebral but also quite aggressive in his methods. Some people think a recent promotion has gone to his head.' Another said: 'Frankly, he can be mildly terrifying if you're on the wrong side of him.'. Frediani polarises opinion, but still has many supporters in the newsroom. His defenders would say that he is a robust boss whose apparent conduct – such as shouting or having favoured subordinates – would not have raised an eyebrow a few years ago. 'Maybe he has a different style but he wants the programme to be the best and for people to do the best job,' says an insider. 'Editors can get frustrated when they think that's not happening, and that frustration comes out in different ways. He's old-school. Perhaps what was acceptable in the past is no longer acceptable, and of course everybody has to move with the times.' 'There is definitely an atmosphere on Breakfast. It's an unhappy place. But is that really all down to Fredi? I don't think so. You can tell just from watching Naga and Charlie on screen that there are tensions there,' says another. 'It's all about relationships. Some people take offence at things that others think is OK. All I would say is, if Naga is making complaints about Fredi but the other presenters aren't, might that say something? Only some people have an issue with him.' Kay and Sally Nugent, the other frontline presenters, are said to get on with Frediani. Frediani started his career as a local radio reporter in his native Preston, Lancs, in the early 1990s, but really made a name for himself running news at Granada – under his leadership it picked up a Bafta for its coverage of the Morecambe Bay cockling trial in 2007 – and as programme editor of ITV News at ITN. He is said to have been so obsessive about his craft that he recorded rival news bulletins and watched them over the weekend, while he did his family's ironing. Since he was lured to the BBC in September 2019, Frediani has successfully seen off the challenge of ITV's Good Morning Britain for supremacy in the morning news battles, although Breakfast's claimed five million viewership is a fraction of what it was at its peak. He is admired for having a populist nose for a story, such as Breakfast's early championing of Captain Tom Moore's charity walks during the coronavirus pandemic. Breakfast regularly revisited the Moore family, and helped organise an RAF flypast by a Spitfire and Hurricane for his 100th birthday. 'There's nothing self-centred or grandiose about Captain Tom,' Frediani said in May 2020. 'He's just a wonderful man. You can tell it has hit a nerve with viewers when they are looking for something to rally around. He brings a little bit of good news and light into what are very difficult times.' His career has not been without its mis-steps, however. The programme had to issue an apology to Harvey Proctor, the former Conservative MP who was falsely accused of being part of a VIP child abuse ring, after an interview with Munchetty. Munchetty wrongly asserted that Cressida Dick, then the Metropolitan Police commissioner, had been cleared by independent reports into the force's handling of the case, which was based on the evidence of the fantasist Carl Beech. Proctor complained after he said the Corporation had dismissed viewers' concerns over the interview. 'I'm very sorry we got this wrong, but I hope you can accept mistakes can happen in live broadcasting and that this was not, of course, a lie,' Frediani wrote to Proctor in an email quoted by the Daily Mail. 'I am, however, very sorry that you were upset by the exchanges and by our subsequent response but I hope I have been able to clarify what happened.' Frediani is widely regarded as being the BBC's most powerful news executive outside London and is particularly prized for having an instinctive understanding of what audiences beyond the capital want to watch. But some BBC sources suggest that Frediani had been left 'upset' at losing out on the chance to become editor of Radio 4's Today programme when Owenna Griffiths was appointed to the post in the summer of 2020. 'The word is he feels sidelined,' says one. 'Today is much [more] important to managers, obviously, and he wanted to be a key BBC player.' Observers and insiders suggest that the BBC is in a particularly difficult position with Frediani. This debacle has exploded less than two months after the Corporation's much-heralded 'workplace culture review', which it launched after a succession of scandals where 'untouchable' stars (such as Huw Edwards) were able to act with impunity. Samir Shah, the BBC chairman, said after the review was published in April that there was not place at the BBC for those who 'abuse power or punch down or behave badly'. The BBC has drafted in a lawyer from PwC to deal with the crisis. To complicate matters further still, Munchetty herself has now been accused of bullying a junior member of staff at Breakfast. She was also reprimanded for making a sex jibe on Radio 5 Live, according to The Sun. The BBC says it does not comment on individual HR cases but takes 'all complaints about conduct at work extremely seriously and will not tolerate behaviour that is not in line with our values. We have robust processes in place and would encourage any staff with concerns to raise them directly with us so they can be addressed'. Frediani did not respond to requests for comment; Munchetty declined to comment. When Munchetty and Stayt returned to the Breakfast sofa on Thursday, for the first time since the scandal hit the front pages of the tabloids and with Frediani away, things did not go entirely smoothly. There were sound and video issues, such as Stayt's microphone failing when he was introducing a segment and the camera panning away, while others were cut off mid-flow. '[It] looks like the interns have taken over the production room this morning,' one wag wrote on X. For his part, Frediani seems relatively untroubled – at least publicly. Shortly before his extended absence was announced internally, he posted a sun-drenched photograph on social media. 'Beautiful day,' read the caption.
The Sun
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Stoney-faced Naga wants ‘business as usual' but subtle slips reveal what she REALLY thinks about ‘bullying' allegations
NAGA Munchetty appeared ready for business as usual on TV today - but her expressions were telling just hours after allegations of bullying emerged, a body language expert has said. The BBC Breakfast host, 50, appeared on air this morning after allegations of bullying relating to her treatment of junior colleagues. 3 It comes after she allegedly made an 'off-air sex jibe' towards a coworker that left them feeling uncomfortable. She also reportedly accused a junior staffer of stealing - with bosses reprimanding the star for her behaviour. Her return to the studio shows a desire to continue business as usual, despite the scandal surrounding the show. During this morning's broadcast, she and Charlie Stayt hosted a segment on being 'appropriate at work', discussing whether shorts are appropriate workwear in hot weather. Body language expert Judi James suggested Naga looked "stoic, professional, and maybe ironic" throughout the segment. Both her body language and her tone gave an air of authority and confidence. Judi said: "Her start comment of 'some people' sounds weighted, with tonal emphasis on the word 'some' and she uses a cut-off ritual with her hand while using very direct eye contact on Charlie, who purses his lips and looks back." While at the start she sits with one elbow on the back of the sofa in a "confident-looking splay" she then leans back in her seat and dons a more "authoritative expression". She continues to hold this expression as Naga concludes: "It depends on your workplace dress code and the nature of your job." As the focus shifts to Charlie to continue the 'what is appropriate in the workplace' discussion, Naga looks into the camera with an "asymmetric, wry-looking smile". BBC star Naga Munchetty hauled in by bosses over allegations she BULLIED a junior staffer and 'made an off-air sex jibe' Charlie meanwhile sucks his lips inwards in an expression of seriousness according to Judi, before employing some "serious-looking head batons for emphasis". Earlier this morning, Naga was seen arriving through the back door of the BBC studio, in a move Judi describes as "low on drama with clearly no desire to showboat or perform any active body language rituals of denial for the cameras." She was wearing a royal blue cat suit that Judi says is a "stylish, confident and professional choice". Throughout the show she maintained this professionalism, visually addressing the cameras. Judi said: "Naga's very direct visual address of the cameras hasn't changed or diluted, which suggests a very direct and open relationship with the viewers." This is mirrored by her body language which also suggests openness. However, Judi suggested that there were some signs of the pressure Naga is facing amidst the allegations as she sandwiched her left hand between her crossed legs, or fiddled with an earring or the neckline of her jumpsuit. Her relationship with Charlie had signs of "harmony" and appeared "friendly". Judi said: "After the 7:30 news ended the camera caught them at a distance and it was Naga budging up closer and throwing him a warm smile as they prepared for the next segment." After the show finished, the pair were seen enjoying a cigarette break together outside the studio. Despite the ironic tone of the segment, Naga has not yet addressed the allegations made against her.
Telegraph
a day ago
- Telegraph
BBC hires lawyer to investigate Breakfast bullying allegations
The BBC has brought in an external consultant to help review the culture of its breakfast show following allegations of bullying and misconduct. The broadcaster's HR team has seconded a lawyer from PwC to deal with the crisis, sources said. The allegations surround Richard Frediani, editor of BBC Breakfast, who is said to be on an 'extended break' from the programme. Naga Munchetty, one of the show's presenters, is reported to be among the staff who have raised concerns. Mr Frediani took the helm in 2019 and has been the subject of at least two misconduct complaints. One woman had her grievance upheld after claiming that Mr Frediani physically shook her during a newsroom exchange last year. Despite that finding, Mr Frediani was handed further responsibility as editor of the BBC's News at One bulletin, which moved its base to Salford last year alongside the BBC Breakfast programme. Mr Frediani has not commented on the allegations, which also include reports of shouting, swearing and screaming at colleagues. One person alleged that the Bafta-winning editor, who joined the BBC from ITN, where he worked on ITV News, cornered a colleague against a wall and jabbed his finger at them while complaining about that morning's show. According to Deadline, insiders described Mr Frediani as a 'bruiser' who runs the breakfast show 'with an iron fist'. The Sun reported that the toxic atmosphere had also driven a wedge between Ms Munchetty and her co-presenter, Charlie Stayt. The BBC is under pressure to conduct a thorough investigation because the allegations come only weeks after it published an independent review into workplace culture. The corporation's chairman, Samir Shah, said after publication of the review that there is no place at the broadcaster for those who 'abuse power or punch down or behave badly'. The review told of 'untouchable' star names who were allowed to get away with bad behaviour, but also referred to some executives behind the camera. It said: 'We heard about a minority of people who behave unacceptably and whose behaviour is not addressed and impacts employees and freelancers. These people work in both on and off-air roles, dotted across the organisation in different functions and departments. 'They are often in positions where power could be abused. Even though they are small in number, their behaviour creates large ripples which negatively impact the BBC's culture and external reputation. '[The BBC] states it has zero tolerance for unacceptable behaviour, but the words do not align with the actual experience of some people working with or for the corporation.' 'Failure to act on Tim Westwood's behaviour' Responding to the allegations about the culture of BBC Breakfast, a spokesperson said: 'While we do not comment on individual cases, we take all complaints about conduct at work extremely seriously and will not tolerate behaviour that is not in line without values. 'We have robust processes in place and would encourage any staff with concerns to raise them directly with us so they can be addressed.' In February, the BBC admitted that it had failed to act on concerns about Tim Westwood's 'bullying and misogynistic behaviour' during his years as a Radio DJ. Westwood declined an invitation to cooperate with the inquiry, citing the ongoing Met investigation, but has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct. The broadcaster said that such behaviour 'was entirely incompatible with BBC values'.
