BBC’s Stephen Nolan accused of planting staff in TV show audience | BBC

The BBC presenter Stephen Nolan is facing fresh scrutiny over claims he planted staff members in the audience of his TV show to stir on-air rows.

The Irish News reported that staffers sat among the audience of Nolan Live, a BBC Northern Ireland show, to identify “feisty” contributors. Nolan’s team allegedly used the codename “ra ra” for on-air arguments and referred to a section of the audience as the “bear pit”.

A spokesperson for the Social and Democratic Labour party (SDLP) said the BBC should investigate the “very serious” allegations. “If it is true that members of a programme’s production team were posing as audience members in a live televised broadcast to generate specific, pre-planned lines of debate or attack against guests then it would fall far below the standards expected of a public broadcaster.”

The BBC responded that it did not know the dates of the programme but added: “If such information is made available to us then it will be investigated thoroughly.”

Earlier this week the Irish News reported that Nolan, one of the corporation’s highest-paid presenters, sent sexually explicit images to colleagues and was the subject of a bullying claim that was not upheld. Unionist and nationalist politicians urged the BBC to provide a full response to the allegations.

In a statement the corporation said it had to consider fairness and confidentiality when handling any workplace-related complaint and could not comment on the specifics of any individual case. Nolan has made no public comment about the allegations.

It is also alleged Nolan team members circulated derogatory comments about politicians. Lawyers representing Martina Anderson, a former Sinn Féin Stormont minister, have asked the BBC to supply personal data it holds relating to Anderson, a request made under the General Data Protection Act.

Nolan, 49, presents radio and television shows on BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Northern Ireland. He was paid between £400,000 and £404,999 in 2022-23, making him the fifth-best paid BBC on-air presenter after Gary Lineker, Zoe Ball, Alan Shearer and Huw Edwards.

Nolan’s shows often set the agenda in Northern Ireland with investigations and combative interviews. Sinn Féin has boycotted his Radio Ulster show for several years. The Social Democratic and Labour party followed suit in March, citing concern about editorial balance, after Nolan halted an interview with the party’s Stormont assembly member Matthew O’Toole.