Paul Gambaccini says ‘I’d be happy to see the BBC go’

Paul Gambaccini has said he would be ‘happy to see the BBC go’ even though he still presents a show every week on Radio 2-  because he says it did not stand by him during false sex allegations.

The 73-year-old DJ, nicknamed The Great Gambo and The Professor of Pop, is appearing in a new Channel 4 documentary, The Accused: National Treasures on Trial.

It chronicles the police raid and subsequent arrest of Gambaccini in November 2013  under Operation Yewtree, which came about after the full extent of Jimmy Savile‘s crimes was revealed 10 years ago. 

Gambaccini was wrongly accused of sexual abuse by two men in the late 70s and early 80s and put on police bail for 11 months, making video diaries to show how unhappy he was.

After 11 months, the Metropolitan Police cleared him of any wrongdoing. 

Gambaccini had hoped to carry on working for the BBC during his arrest but he told the Telegraph that he thought the broadcaster had not stood by him.

He added that he thought they had made a decision based on ‘public relations’ instead of investigating the accusations. 

The show also documents the false sex allegations faced by Sir Cliff Richard and DJ Neil Fox who were both eventually cleared of wrongdoing.

Despite Gambaccini’s 50 years working at the BBC, he has said he would be happy to see the corporation go. It currently faces issues including a threat to its licence fee.

His reasoning is that the corporation refused to give the accused justice during Operation Yewtree. 

Gambaccini, who presents Radio 2’s Pick of the Pops every week, says that the documentary dredges up unhappy memories for him. 

Despite his anger, the 73-year-old had returned to the BBC after the CPS decided not to charge him.

He explained that he returned to the radio because as a broadcaster, his ‘central relationship’ was with his audience and not his managers.   

His words come after the BBC recently clamped down on what its staff at the broadcaster say in public.

This has meant that some people, including Emily Maitlis, have left and now work for other outlets. 

And it comes after a video went viral of Gambaccini expressing his views on the BBC last September, in a chat with  Victoria Derbyshire.

In the clip, the 73-year-old said the BBC was ‘on the side of wrongdoers’ and said that the broadcaster allowed people who he labelled ‘fanatasists’ to accuse celebrities of paedophilia.

He described it as a witch hunt and then challenged Fran Unsworth, the then head of news, to a public debate where he said he would ‘dissect her like a frog, without ether.’  

Gambaccini maintains that he has moved on after his outburst but explained that three days after the incident he had a visit from a BBC executive.

They told him that he could speak about the management in the Lord Hall era but not discuss current staff at the BBC. 

The 73-year-old thinks that they took this stance ‘to keep themselves safe’.

After Operation Yewtree, he published Paul Gambaccini: My Years Under Yewtree, a 2015 account of how the incident affected his life.

This memoir was described by friend Elton John as something that ‘more than puts the record straight.’  

As Operation Yewtree rumbled on, friends Gambaccini and Cliff Richard supported each other.

And in 2018, Sir Cliff was awarded £210,000 damages for his case against the BBC after their news coverage of his case. 

The new documentary features some who describe the suffering of those arrested, bailed but never found the evidence to charge as ‘collateral damage.’

And they say it was a ‘price worth paying’ as they convicted and jailed the majority of those accused.  

But for Gambaccini, his happy life with his new husband Christopher Sherwood was ruined by Operation Yewtree, as he was arrested a year after they married. 

Gambaccini is preparing to move to a new home with a garden as the documentary is set to air.  

The 73-year-old said that he decided to be in the new documentary partly for practical reasons.

He added that he trusts the director Charlie Russell who made the video diaries for him while he was on police bail. 

But Gambaccini harbours anger towards Keir Starmer, who was working as Director of Public Prosecutions when he was arrested.

He said that his case became guilty until proven innocent because Starmer said at the time that police should believe every accuser and added that the idea of him being Prime Minister fills him with gloom.

On the other hand, he described Home Secretary Theresa May as ‘one of his heroes’ as she had persuaded her to bring in a 28-day limit on police bail. 

But he was not so impressed by Priti Patel, who he said showed no interest in the administration of justice after he stood with Cliff Richard and said that all those arrested by police should remain anonymous until charged. 

He told the Telegraph that he will fight on and added: ‘No man, can acquiesce in his own destruction.’ 

The Accused: National Treasures on Trial, Wednesday 24th August, 9pm, Channel 4 & All 4