BBC presenter Stephen Nolan has apologised following claims he sent sexually explicit photos of a potential guest to his work colleagues.
As reported by The Irish News, Nolan is alleged to have sent two explicit images of former reality star Stephen Bear to his television production team, as they were trying to book him for the show Nolan Live in 2016.
Nolan addressed the allegations at the beginning of his Radio Ulster show on Friday (August 18), saying he was “deeply sorry”.
“We have had days, as you probably know, of headlines about me and the Nolan team in the papers this week and I am not ignoring the story,” Nolan said (via BBC).
“It’s just that the BBC has processes in place to deal with staff complaints and I do, and need to, totally respect those processes. They have got to be confidential for them to work. I can say one thing though and that is that I’m sorry.
“There was a photograph, it was widely available on the internet and I was talking to a long-term friend and peer outside of work. I am deeply sorry.”
Nolan later denied an allegation that members of BBC staff were placed in the audience of Nolan Live in order to “manipulate” the programme.
“I can speak about that on the record,” Nolan added. “That is completely, categorically false. We don’t do that in the Nolan team. We value our relationship with you far too much to compromise it.”
In the original report, The Irish News also claimed a former member of Nolan’s team had made a formal complaint of bullying against him, which was not upheld in an investigation.
In a statement, BBC Northern Ireland’s director Adam Smyth, said: “There are important considerations of fairness and confidentiality involved in the handling of any workplace-related complaint.
“We take these obligations seriously – and in the interests of everyone involved. It is for these reasons that we cannot comment on the specifics of any individual case, who/what it may have involved or its outcome.”
Stephen Bear is currently in prison after being found guilty of voyeurism and sharing a private sex tape with an ex-girlfriend.
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