IT’S been another bad week for the BBC – with its flagship breakfast show reeling from yet more damning allegations.
Host Naga Munchetty — who is already “under review” amid “rudeness” and “bullying” claims — is said to have kicked off at a terrified intern over how they spread MARMITE on her toast.
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In another diva strop, the presenter even moaned that her porridge was “too hot” and the blueberry topping wasn’t to her liking, according to a whistleblower.
Bosses are currently assessing whether Naga — who earns around £355k for her work on Breakfast and Radio 5Live — and her co-star Charlie Stayt should face formal investigation.
An insider told me: “The phrase headless chickens comes to mind.
“Every day, there’s a new revelation thanks to intense in-fighting across daytime.
“And with each new story, fingers are pointed, tension is off the scale and people are scared to even breathe lest it ends up triggering a complaint or, worse, a new headline.”
I told this week how both Naga and Charlie were “under review” as bosses considered whether to escalate a string of complaints against them.
HR has been alerted to the alleged pattern of bad behaviour as part of a “listening” review, which was put in place following an external probe into Breakfast editor Richard Frediani.
The rising tensions have caused desperate bosses to entirely change long-established ways of working at the Beeb’s Manchester HQ following The Sun’s explosive reporting on the toxicity crisis.
Frediani has now returned to work, but relations between him and star talent Naga, 50, and Charlie, 63, have turned so sour, he has been told to no longer directly manage them.
A source said: “Fredi now doesn’t brief Naga and Charlie or any of that sort of thing and someone else is on the talkback to them from the gallery.
“The crew are entirely bemused and exhausted by it — in what world is it normal for a boss to be banned from talking to his staff?”
Forced to apologise
Talkback is the function which connects the production gallery to the set and allows an editor to speak to hosts via an earpiece.
Instead, one of Frediani’s editorial team handles the link.
The source added: “Bosses are desperate to get Breakfast back on an even keel and know the tension between Fredi, Charlie and Naga is at the heart of the rising crisis.
The crew are entirely bemused and exhausted by it — in what world is it normal for a boss to be banned from talking to his staff?
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“The changes were implemented on Thursday after The Sun’s story revealed Charlie was also under review.
“It was considered a way to manage the situation in the hope it will all blow over.”
Despite the changes, tensions are spiralling. But both presenters have doggedly turned up for work, plastering on a smile for their shifts on the red sofa yesterday and on Thursday.
The duo’s detractors, some of whom are behind the complaints against them, are bemused that neither has been pulled off air.
Media City studios in Salford were thrown under the spotlight in June when a probe was launched into Bafta award-winning director Richard Frediani.
The microscope swiftly swung across to Naga, who was positioned as the main adversary to Fredi, as he is known.
The Sun previously reported that she faced complaints on 5Live, including a bullying claim and the alleged use of crude, sexual language.
Bosses were also forced to apologise on her behalf after a tense interview with Spice Girl Geri Horner in 2023.
It meant that until now, Naga had shouldered much of the criticism, and last week we told how she had been placed “under review.”
But this week a source revealed that bosses have also heard from colleagues with complaints over Charlie’s conduct.
They point to “rudeness” and “bullying” as well as behaviour that “undermines staff”.
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‘Throw weight around’
The source said: “A number of people have come forward to share their experiences with Charlie, so the BBC has officially moved to place the complaints under review.
“The review is to ascertain whether a full-on investigation is required and that could come in weeks.
“Charlie and Naga will be assessed separately.”
However, it would appear it is not just BBC Breakfast that is broken.
Across the corridor, there are rumblings of discontent on at least one other well-known programme.
Many believe it is only a matter of time before names are shamed.
Another worker said: “There’s been talk that the tough London journalists and execs come up to the Manchester studios and bring their tougher ways with them and it’s the northern snowflakes that can’t hack it.
“But we see it differently — maybe it’s more that those London egos can’t hack being shipped out the capital so feel the need to throw their weight around.”
The ongoing saga leaves just one key question — can the BBC’s daytime unit survive the rising blight?
On Naga’s marmite meltdown, the BBC declined to comment and a representative did not respond.
Regarding the shake-up in ways of working, the Beeb also declined to comment.
However, a BBC spokesperson said of Charlie and Naga: “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 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.”
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Swinging cuts
It is an impressive string of responses from what is meant to be the respected, genteel arm of the BBC.
Daytime is the heart of any channel, the friendly and trusted faces for people home alone. So how can viewers trust in the nation’s broadcaster when there is mould festering within?
They would do well to look over the parapet to ITV, whose flagship This Morning is still struggling to bob above the waves following 2023’s scandal surrounding Phillip Schofield.
Installing glossy Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard as the show’s main new hosts provided a boost.
But with swinging cuts now looming over the entire suite of daytime shows, it’s hard to see how even the buoyancy of their star power has helped.
Which is something Naga and Charlie might do well to remember next time they’re moaning about their toast.
