The warning signal of hassle at Radio 5: On-air spat between Tony Livesey and Clare McDonnell earlier than he despatched an e-mail slagging her off straight to her and triggered meltdown
A resurfaced clip hinting at trouble behind the scenes between two Radio 5 Live hosts as emerged as the BBC faces accusations of a ‘cover-up’ to stop the row entering the public psyche.
Hosts Tony Livesey and Clare McDonnell reportedly fell out months ago and have refused to work with each other again following a ‘message mishap’.
As part of efforts to resolve the situation, the BBC earlier this month announced changes to its scheduling, but did not specify why.
Insiders told The Sun that Tony, 60, sent a message criticising Clare’s presenting to her by mistake.
The pair, who have presented BBC Radio 5 Live’s drivetime show together for more than two years, then reportedly had a huge row which has left the station in chaos, and ended with Tony being moved from his drivetime show.
BBC Radio 5 Live hosts Tony Livesey and Clare McDonnell (pictured) have fallen out and refused to work with each other again following a ‘message mishap’, according to reports
Insiders told The Sun that Tony (pictured), 60, sent a message ‘slagging off’ Clare’s presenting to her by mistake
The awkward clip, from June 2023, shows the pair discussing Wimbledon with Clare seemingly unhappy with having to call their programme ‘Wimbledrive’ while Wimbledon was on.
Later in the clip Tony was discussing presenting Wimbledon coverage and said: ‘When you’re talking to people like Gigi and Russell Fuller and David Law and you’re asking them about fur on the balls and all that kind of thing and suddenly they go into commentary mode.
‘They are uber professional, it’s a privilege to sit alongside them.’
Clare replied: ‘It’ll be good to work alongside professionals for a change. I’m looking forward to it.’
Tony said: ‘Everyone’s having a go now.’
Clare said: ‘Oh that was an open goal.’
It comes as it was revealed today the BBC tried to resolve the situation internally without alerting listeners by making dramatic changes to its scheduled programming.
This week Clare and Tony alternated as presenters of the drivetime show.
Clare hosted on Monday and Tuesday alongside Johnny I’Anso, whereas Tony took the reigns on Wednesday and Thursday with Leila Nathoo.
And earlier this month the BBC confirmed it would be shaking up its presenter schedule permanently.
Tony will be replaced by Chris Warburton in the drivetime slot from December as he moves to the 10pm show where he started his 5Live career.
Chris, who has been co-hosting Weekend Breakfast for 10 years, will team up with Clare who will stay presenting her usual show.
Staff at the corporation have reportedly been ‘shifted all over the shop’ in a bid to end the row, which has allegedly left the station in chaos.
A source told the Sun: ‘She [Clare] no longer wants to work with him and that has caused total chaos at the station.
‘People are being shifted all over the shop and into different slots, which isn’t going down well.
‘Clare is well within her rights to be angry – but it’s made the atmosphere at 5Live really frosty.’
MailOnline has contacted Tony, Clare and the BBC for comment.
Tony has now lost his drivetime show and will return to the 10pm slot, where he began his career
Clare was said to ‘livid’ after receiving the email ‘slagging off’ her presenting skills, a source told the Sun
Pictured: General view of the BBC headquarters in London
The BBC has been rocked by a series of scandals in recent months and confirmed in October that it had launched a probe into its workplace culture.
The review was prompted by the Huw Edwards scandal which saw the well-known news presenter charged with three counts of making indecent images of children.
It also comes after a bullying probe that led to the BBC apologising to Strictly Come Dancing star Amanda Abbington after she reported her dance partner Giovanni Pernice.
The BBC review will be led by Grahame Russell, the executive chairman and founder of Change Associates, and the report is expected to be published next spring.
It will have a particular focus on ‘preventing abuse of power and ensuring everyone at the BBC conducts themselves in line’ with BBC values, the corporation said.
Announcing the start of the review in an email to staff, BBC chairman Samir Shah said: ‘I cannot emphasise enough that I am fully committed to tackling inappropriate or abusive behaviour.
‘For most of us it is a joy to work for the BBC and that should be the case for everyone. Nobody working in the BBC should ever feel fear or worry while working here.
The BBC has been rocked by a series of scandals in recent months and confirmed in October that it had launched a probe into its workplace culture. Pictured: Chairman Samir Shah
‘What is clear to me is that we must ensure the BBC is a safe, secure and welcoming workplace for everyone.’
Change Associates previously led the work on the BBC’s 2013 ‘respect at work’ review.
The latest review will assess the progress made on those recommendations and will look at work done in other reviews.
It will focus on a number of aspects including how the BBC can ‘ensure the consequences of inappropriate behaviour and abuse of power are understood by everyone and that significant issues are dealt with as soon as they are identified and in a consistent manner’.
If there is more the corporation could do to ‘ensure people feel confident to speak up and for managers and leaders to act decisively’ is also among the focus points.
The final report will make recommendations on practical steps the corporation can take to ‘further strengthen workplace culture’, the BBC has said.
