Why insiders concern rising ‘civil conflict’ on the BBC may kill off Match of the Day amid seek for Lineker’s substitute – as sports activities chief is accused of ‘woking issues up’, writes KATIE HIND

There were a flurry of meetings at the BBC‘s central London HQ, Broadcasting House, on Tuesday. Some were high-level, involving the Corporation’s senior bosses. Others were of a less formal nature, with groups of staff of all levels gathering.

The subject, though, was the same in both: who Gary Lineker‘s successor at Match of the Day (MOTD) would be.

Among gossiping staff, the Beeb’s Director of Sport, Alex Kay-Jelski – the man responsible for overthrowing the former England striker – received almost as many mentions as Lineker.

It’s widely known that Kay-Jelski, the 40-year-old sports supremo, wants change at the Corporation, and fast.

When he arrived in the role from US sports website The Athletic in April, he had a simple mandate: to find younger viewers. However that task – which, revealingly, his older colleagues now openly refer to as ‘woking things up’ – certainly doesn’t come without risks.

Because, the Mail can reveal, there are fears within the BBC that it’s on the verge of ‘civil war’ over MOTD’s future, which is one of the Corporation’s most iconic brands.

There is a feeling among BBC staff that if Kay-Jelski gets his way, Lineker’s successor will not be a white man.

Indeed, it seems Kay-Jelski – who in 2019 wrote a column for The Times, in which he expressed the view that transgender women competing in women’s sports was ‘not a huge problem’ – has former England woman’s footballer Alex Scott in his sights to replace Lineker. I’m told he has spoken to her several times about it.

Yet I’m also told the idea of having Scott, 40, in this high-profile role has prompted ‘huge fears’ for the future of MOTD, which currently costs the BBC £211 million every three years for the Premier League highlights alone.

Bluntly, if Scott is signed and flops, the BBC – and, by default the taxpayer – will have paid an awful lot of money for what will have become a dud product.

Says my source, who is close to the internal discussions: ‘Behind the scenes, the most senior of executives fear they’re on the verge of civil war over this.

‘MOTD is still one of the most watched shows on the BBC and the Premier League footage that is used on the show is among one of the most expensive commodities the BBC has.

‘Those rights cost so much money that it isn’t as easy as saying ‘We want our new presenter to tick the right boxes’ because that could lead to a huge drop in viewing figures, which then would call into question why so much money is being shelled out for the rights. ‘So it just isn’t as simple as ‘Hire this person, she’s great’.’

Scott is currently the host of BBC1’s Football Focus, replacing Dan Walker three years ago when he defected to Channel 5. A favourite among the Beeb’s upper echelons for some time after she retired from football seven years ago, she has also become a pundit for BBC Sport, as well as hosting The One Show. 

She has a working class background in the East End of London, something that the Corporation’s bosses are said to be ‘deeply in awe of’. I’m told that behind the scenes she is ‘technically brilliant’. One of her former colleagues insists she has ‘worked so, so hard’ to become an accomplished broadcaster.

The problem is, though, says one industry insider, ‘the viewers haven’t warmed to her’.

This fact is well known within the BBC – and there was considerable fury within the BBC press office when this was pointed out by colleagues to The Sun, Lineker’s favourite newspaper, which reported that Scott was ‘deeply hurt’ when she was blamed by the Beeb for falling viewing figures on Football Focus. So upset was she by this report that she complained to bosses.

‘It’s strange with Alex because she should be so loved,’ said a sports industry expert. ‘You’d think men and women would love her but they don’t.

‘Men in particular don’t seem to want to listen to her telling them about football. She just doesn’t have that likeability factor.’

So who will make the decision over Lineker’s replacement?

I’m told that Tim Davie, the BBC’s Director-General, is keen to give Kay-Jelski ‘full responsibility’ for the hiring, but there are others in the Corporation who will want to have a say in the matter. Charlotte Moore, the highly regarded Chief Content Officer, is one. While I’m told she is ‘very pro-women’, part of her job is to assess risk and ensure money is being spent in the right places.

‘It would be a disaster for her if the ratings drop,’ one BBC insider says. ‘If those millions of pounds are seen as a waste, it won’t reflect well on her at all.

‘Nobody wants to step on Alex Kay-Jelski’s toes and the bosses are keen to give him the opportunity to run his own domain. But they cannot risk a failure for a show that has become their flagship sports offering. They know that the BBC faces a huge backlash if they are found to have spent hundreds of millions of pounds on Premier League rights for a programme that viewers refuse to tune into.’

My source adds: ‘Many believe that Alex Kay-Jelski has done a great job so far, and we’re happy to see Lineker leave. But they recognise this is much bigger than a single show and could have huge implications for the licence fee overall.

‘If Gary’s replacement isn’t right, it could be the end of MOTD altogether. That should not be underestimated.

‘We are talking about a war over woke here. There is a view that it just has to be a woman.’

While it’s certainly true that this vital decision is making his colleagues nervous, Kay-Jelski has become something of a cult hero within the Corporation. Lineker wielded much power at the BBC after 25 years at the helm of MOTD, and others feared to take him on.

But after just seven months in post, Kay-Jelski achieved the previously impossible, and Lineker’s departure was announced earlier this week.

He will host MOTD until the end of the season, as well as the 2026 World Cup and next season’s FA Cup.

His sidekick, former England striker Alan Shearer has reportedly signed a new contract, though he and the BBC are yet to comment. Shearer staying on board will appease viewers.

But former Manchester City star Micah Richards is yet to address his future. It’s possible Richards is waiting to see who his host will be, before announcing his intentions.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that in the diversity obsessed world of W1A, the most popular choice to replace Lineker is least likely to wear the crown: Mark ‘Chappers’ Chapman, host of the Sunday night show Match of the Day 2′.

One BBC staff member was unsparing when commenting on his prospects: ‘He’s a man, he has been professional, kept his head down and would be the most sensible choice, but Alex Kay-Jelski seems to want to shake things up more.’

Perhaps we should pity, then, the BBC bigwigs once again struggling to fit the square peg of ‘diversity’ into the round hole of what viewers actually want to watch on their screens.