Rylan Clark and Jeremy Vine respond to BBC presenter scandal

The anonymous BBC presenter who has been charged with paying a teen for pornographic images has drawn the ire of TV host Rylan Clark, who has debunked the unfounded rumours around him.

A BBC personality who has apparently been removed from air since the allegation surfaced is the unidentified presenter.

The alleged victim’s mother claimed that the money, which she claimed to be in the sum of more than £35,000, was used to support a cocaine addiction that “destroyed” her child’s life.

After the story was published, Mr Clark said: “Not sure why my names floating about but re that story in the sun- that ain’t me babe. I’m Currently filming a show in Italy for the bbc, so take my name out ya mouths.”

Radio star Jeremy Vine also responded to the story, telling his Twitter followers: “It certainly ain’t me”.

Addressing more baseless speculation, he wrote: “Just to say I’m very much looking forward to hosting my radio show on Monday — whoever the “BBC Presenter” in the news is, I have the same message for you as Rylan did earlier: it certainly ain’t me.”

According to The Sun, the family of the accused victim protested to the BBC about the conduct on May 19 and pleaded with the broadcaster service to order the presenter to “stop sending the cash.”

The person and the teen, who was allegedly 17 when the payments started, were not named.

The BBC said it takes “any allegations very seriously”.

Sympathetic Twitter users responded to Mr Clark’s tweet, with one person saying: “Ignore them. This kind of reporting isn’t fair on the majority of decent presenters. Keep doing you Rylan x”

Another said: “You have always come across as 100% genuine. Don’t worry about it.”

A BBC representative responded to The Sun’s claim by saying, “We handle all allegations very seriously, and we have processes in place to deal with them promptly.

“As part of that, if we receive information that requires further investigation or examination we will take steps to do this.

“That includes actively attempting to speak to those who have contacted us in order to seek further detail and understanding of the situation.

“If we get no reply to our attempts or receive no further contact that can limit our ability to progress things but it does not mean our enquiries stop.

“If, at any point, new information comes to light or is provided – including via newspapers – this will be acted upon appropriately, in line with internal processes.”