How can BBC fire Tony Blackburn for ‘inconsistencies’ but not serial perv Chris Evans?
A string of ex-workmates confirm the former Top Gear presenter enjoyed getting his penis out for colleagues
I WONDER if we could compare and contrast the manner in which the BBC have treated Radio 2 presenters Chris Evans and Tony Blackburn.
Some four months back, BBC Director-General Tony Hall fired Blackburn for “inconsistencies” in evidence he gave to the Savile inquiry over claims he had seduced a 15-year-old at his flat after meeting her at the Top of the Pops studios.
Blackburn always protested his innocence and I’m pleased to report he now has a show on the new London digital station Thames Radio launched by my friend and former colleague Jason Bryant.
Not BBC fame and/or money but it is work. Very brave of Bryant to hire him.
Let’s turn to Chris Evans. It has been well documented that a female colleague at the Channel 4 Big Breakfast show has claimed in a statement to the cops that for two years he flashed at her and grabbed her boobs after she rejected his advances.
Any week now he will be questioned under caution by the police and then be bailed.
Serious stuff. The allegations do not end there.
A producer on the same show Fiona Cotter-Craig tells of the time that she was relaxing in the garden of The Big Breakfast after filming when he stole up on her, unzipped his fly and exposed his manhood.
Ms Cotter-Craig, now a veteran with a string of successes, says: “It was very unpleasant. It was eye-level inches from my face and he said, ‘I bet you haven’t seen one of these in a while.’
Ms Cotter-Craig is gay. Evans knew that.
Related stories
There is virtually nobody who has ever worked with Evans that doesn’t confirm he enjoyed producing his penis for workmates.
He clearly thought it fun and television stars of the Eighties and Nineties were gods on the set and held the key to your secure employment.
That was then and this is now.
A serial flasher in a position of authority — not to mention boob grabber — would expect to be fired on the spot by his company, not to mention a lengthy spell as a guest of Her Majesty.
So perhaps Tony Hall can explain to the humble taxpayer, who funds his empire, how it is that Blackburn is fired for his “inconsistencies” while Evans is kept on despite his “consistencies”?
These days it's best you invest...in a tin hat
I HEAR credit card transactions dropped an incredible 30 per cent following the Brexit vote.
In simple terms we have locked up our wallets as we’re worried about the future.
I’m one of the wobblers, having put on hold trading in my old car for a new one.
If my number turns out to be kosher we are heading for a major recession, as large as 2008.
So I expect Bank of England Governor Mark Carney to announce on Thursday that he is cutting interest rates by half a per cent to zero.
The consumer strike would explain why Topshop, H&M, Zara and even Marks & Spencer have slashed 70 per cent or more off prices in the deepest discounting seen in three decades.
Estate agent friends tell me sales are still going through but some first-time buyers are pulling out as they believe prices may go lower or have question marks about future employment.
The best investment you can make right now? Buy a tin hat.
– SURPRISE, surprise. Never heard a peep out of the Halifax when I demanded an explanation for why they charged that old dear in Scotland almost £1,000 a year for two decades to insure her home, which is only worth £55,000.
The family have got new insurance for £97.
Halifax knew her circumstances and the value of the house and yet still took £20,000 from her over the years.
Disgusting creeps. Forget their current Top Cat TV ad, more like Top Sh*ts.
Do ditch Halifax, go to any price comparison site ( included) and you will save a fortune.
Got some nice thank yous, including one from column reader Elaine Wilson who had a car renewal of £550.24 and switched with for £314.14 to Hastings Direct – and that included breakdown cover she never had before.
Unless you’re Mr Philip Green, you must get switching.
Send your saving stories to [email protected]
– WENT to the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show on Saturday where tickets were an eye-watering £35 each.
What for? The show was long on £4,000 wooden greenhouses and over-salty chicken-and-ham pies but short on flowers.
Too many people, too few peonies. The R in RHS stands for Racket.
The punniest and the funniest from around the country
OSTEOPATH in Bridport, Dorset – Twist & Shout.
Electrician’s shop in Northwich, Cheshire – Doug the Plug.
Female-run fishing shop in Hayling Island, Hants – Hookers Baits.
Pancake stand at an event in Chelmsford, Essex – The Crepe Crusaders.
Barber’s in Brick Lane, East London – Jack the Clipper.
Sex shop in Morecambe, Lancs – Sin-til-late.
Locksmith in York – Yorkey.
Launderette in York – The Washing Well.
Plasterer in Bedfordshire – Fred the Spread.
Chippie in Derby – Chish & Fips.
Seen on the side of a cesspit tanker – The Motion is Carried.
Landscape gardener’s van in Northwich, Cheshire – Heaven on Earth.
Tanning studio in Hinckley, Leics – Tan ya Hyde.
Florist’s in Hornchurch, Essex – Oops a Daisy.
Cycle shop in North Walsham, Norfolk – Dr Wheelgood.
Clothing alterations in Merry Hill, West Mids – Sewquick.
Excellent punnies today. Please send more to Kelvin @the-sun.co.uk
– TWICE in less than a week there has been a suicide on my Weybridge-Waterloo line. It’s a contagion.
Why a train death and not a pills death is beyond me.
Can I suggest South Western trains change the communication from “person hit by train” to “train hit by a person”.
– IS Steve Coogan turning into a real-life Alan Partridge?
Although 50, Mr Coogan has now taken to wearing the fashionable short suit jackets, with yellow shoes as an accessory.
Plus, he has taken up with Laura Hajek, some 24 years his junior, having parted ways with Downton star Daisy Lewis (only 20 years younger) after a row recently outside The Groucho.
His private life would make a fascinating series.
Certainly couldn’t be worse than his dreadful BBC2 travelogue around Italy with Rob Brydon.
Mark my words, Andrea Leadsom will be the next PM
MUCH under-fire Andrea Leadsom is playing an absolute blinder in her Tory leadership bid and I am certain she is to be our next Prime Minister.
She is appealing over the heads of the recalcitrant Remain camp in Parliament to the only people that matter – the 150,000 members of the Conservative association who will decide the contest between her and the already knackered-looking Theresa May.
Let’s look at the boxes that need ticking if you want to win.
The average Conservative association member is older and therefore, according to the stats, voted Leave. Andrea Leadsom voted Leave.
Ordinary Conservatives liked Ukip’s Nigel Farage and admired the way he forced David Cameron to give us an EU referendum. Ms Leadsom has not ruled out Farage joining her Brexit committee.
Although Cameron claimed gay marriage was among his greatest legacies many older Tories didn’t share that view and luckily Ms Leadsom didn’t vote for it.
Ms Leadsom has children and unfortunately Ms May doesn’t.
I was going to make that point myself in last Friday’s column but at the last minute got the Features back bench to take it out.
The decisions you take at No. 10 must bear in mind how it will affect future generations and, if you have kids, you can test policy through their mind’s eye.
Finally, the good news is that Nicky Morgan, the ho-hum Education Secretary, has let it be known that she will quit the Tory Party if Ms Leadsom wins.
Andrea, you are home and hosed. Leave means change. You are the change candidate.
– QUOTE by Boris Johnson during a speech in Northampton on Thursday night: “There’s been an outbreak of knife crime in SW1 since I stepped down as Mayor.”
Love the fact he still can crack a gag despite his political assassination. He’ll be back.
– SAW the other day that the FA are looking for a new England manager who believes in “possession” football.
How novel. A team that holds on to the ball rather than handing it to the other side.
It’s a foreign idea, it’ll never catch on here.