There have been two topics of conversation at the BBC this week: whether Morning Live hosts Helen Skelton and Gethin Jones are dating, and Gary Lineker.
While the former has seen the rumour mill go into overdrive, with their colleagues hoping they are indeed in the first throes of romance, when it comes to Lineker there is unadulterated fury.
For I can reveal his departure prompted some turbulent meetings in the BBC’s HQ last week. Some in the upper echelons of the corporation, I’m told, were seen to ‘lose their s***’ over the treatment of their once-feted Match Of The Day presenter.
At the crux of the fallout is just why Lineker wasn’t slung out immediately after sharing a social media post about Zionism that included an illustration of a rat.
Instead, he will be given what has been described by BBC sources as a ‘hero’s farewell’ as he presents his last episode of the show tonight, alongside friends and co-stars Micah Richards and Alan Shearer.
To make matters worse, say the sources, he was allowed to make a statement in which he says he ‘stepped back’ from the corporation, rather than being sacked.
The BBC goes to great lengths to tell its licence-fee payers that it cherishes its impartiality and takes misconduct seriously.
In 2023, Lineker was given a severe ticking-off over his social media conduct, when he tweeted that language used by ministers to promote a government asylum policy was ‘not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s’.
Gary Lineker’s departure announcement prompted some turbulent meetings in the BBC’s HQ last week
The likening of Jews to vermin was very much the language used by the Nazis, yet Lineker claimed he was unaware of the association when he took down that post featuring the rat.
He was suspended over the 2023 tweet and, at great expense, former ITN CEO John Hardie was brought in to oversee a new social media policy for staff.
Many inside the BBC feel that if they had so blatantly flouted the corporation’s guidelines on impartiality, they would have been fired. Yet the former England striker was allowed to remain gainfully employed.
Nor had the episode diminished any of his star power at the BBC, which continued to pay him £1.3 million a year. Little wonder, then, that so many staff feel that one rule applies to them and another to Lineker.
Instead of an ignominious defenestration from the BBC, it appears that Lineker could dictate the terms of his own exit – something insiders credit to his long-standing agent Jon Holmes.
Described as a ‘rottweiler’ in some quarters, he is said to ‘put the fear of God’ into some bosses at the broadcaster.
‘Jon takes no prisoners,’ says my BBC source. ‘He is gung-ho about everything he does, he is no-nonsense and as hard as nails and he is terrifying at times. There are people within the BBC who are petrified of Jon and they won’t hesitate to cave in to his demands.
‘Gary does the Mr Nice Guy thing while Jon is the hard case who gets his own way for his client. Jon has long believed that Gary can call the shots, and the worrying thing is that the BBC have allowed that. There is no way he should have been able to simply “step back” from his job and be allowed his swansong tonight. He should have been sacked immediately. But that will be down to Jon fighting tooth and nail for Gary.’
From left to right: John Holmes, Gary Lineker and former Leicester City chairman Greg Clarke
Katie Hind experienced the full wrath of John Holmes over one of Gary Lineker’s TV ads for Walkers
It was Holmes who ensured that Lineker could continue his commercial deal with Walkers crisps while also being one of the best paid presenters at a broadcaster that has strict rules against advertising in its shows.
It was over one of his TV ads for Walkers that I experienced the full wrath of Holmes.
In 2021, I revealed that his client had blundered into a race row when the crisp maker featured black actors to promote its tie-in with fast food chain KFC, which some saw as perpetuating a negative stereotype of black people liking fried chicken. Holmes wasted no time in firing an ugly and personal email to me questioning what my own parents make of me and ordering me to ‘ponder’ my career.
On another occasion, I contacted Holmes to ask if he wished to comment on a story I was writing about Lineker having nine jobs outside of the BBC. In typically aggressive fashion, he accused me of being ‘not as talented’ as his client and ‘jealous’ of him.
It appears Holmes also shaped the narrative around Lineker’s departure from the BBC to ensure a ‘soft landing’. There was no suggestion that the star was pushed from the corporation when The Sun newspaper – a favoured publication of Lineker, despite its anti-woke world view – first printed the story under the headline ‘Lineker quits the BBC in hate row’.
Hours later, he released his statement to effectively say he was cutting ties completely with the BBC, and would not host its coverage of next year’s World Cup, as was the original agreement when he announced his departure in November. (The broadcaster has subsequently confirmed that Lineker’s The Rest Is Football podcast will no longer appear on the BBC Sounds app).
He also apologised for the social media post, saying: ‘I would never knowingly share anything anti-Semitic. It goes against everything I believe in,’ adding that ‘stepping back now feels like the responsible course of action’.
Some have questioned why the BBC bought Lineker’s excuse that he didn’t understand what he was sharing. One told me: ‘He’s a 64-year-old man for crying out loud, how on earth can the BBC accept that as an excuse?
‘Imagine if he posted something similar about the Black Lives Matter movement – it would have caused mayhem and he certainly would not be getting a send-off. ’
Also, I am told, it rankles with staff that despite Lineker leaving under a dark cloud, tonight’s Match Of The Day is rumoured to feature a highlights reel of his time on the show.
Most agree with Danny Cohen, the former director of BBC Television who went public with his views last week, saying of Lineker: ‘He should not be allowed a final swansong this weekend. It will be very hard for many in the Jewish community to see Mr Lineker present Match Of The Day again.’
For most BBC staff though, the over-riding emotion will be one of relief that they are free of Lineker, a man they adored for his talent but despised for his arrogance.
