The BBC is confronting a fresh controversy after offensive historical tweets from a contestant on the upcoming series of The Apprentice were discovered online.
Offensive Posts Unearthed
The corporation has been forced into damage control following revelations about Levi Hague, one of 20 candidates set to compete for Lord Sugar's £250,000 investment from January 29. A series of tweets, reportedly sent over a decade ago, contained deeply offensive language.
In the posts, the Doncaster native and RAF veteran disparaged Islam, calling it a "joke" in one message from May 2013. He also used derogatory terms like "skets" and "dogs" to refer to women from his hometown. Another tweet from October 2012 celebrated the extradition of hate preacher Abu Hamza, using expletive-laden and Islamophobic language, and tagged Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson.
Hague appeared to align himself with far-right sentiments, writing: "We need to unite with EDLTrobinson not against! We have had enough of the acts of Islam time for British people to make a stand." The account from which the tweets were sent has since been removed from the platform.
Apology and BBC Response
Facing intense scrutiny, Levi Hague issued a statement apologising for his "truly awful language and views." He stated: "I am ashamed and embarrassed to have made these posts over a decade ago... They are not a reflection of the values I uphold today." Hague, who runs a pet memorial business called Living Forever Memories, also apologised to the production team for not disclosing the account.
The BBC responded forcefully, stating it was "completely unaware" of the comments and found them "totally unacceptable." A spokesperson confirmed the corporation has asked the independent production company, Fremantle's Naked, for further assurances on their social media vetting processes, which evidently failed in this instance.
Production Company's Failed Checks
Naked, the production company behind the long-running business reality show, admitted its rigorous background checks had not flagged the offensive posts. In a statement, they said: "We pride ourselves on producing a series that promotes diversity and inclusion... On this occasion, these checks failed to flag the offensive posts, therefore we will be reviewing this process moving forward."
The incident marks another reputational challenge for the BBC, which has recently faced several scandals related to the conduct of individuals associated with its programming. It also raises serious questions about the depth of due diligence performed on reality TV contestants before they are cast on major prime-time shows.
