BBC DJ apology over ‘fake’ phone-in - yet more and more BBC Total deceit uncovered

The Press Association

Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley is due to make an on-air apology following the revelation that a staff member posed as a caller during a phone competition.

In the latest fakery row to hit the BBC, the employee pretended to be an audience member for a pre-recorded segment of the show in which a number of CDs were up for grabs.

Whiley, a former Sony Radio Awards DJ of the Year, is said to have been unaware of the deceit.

It took place in April last year, but only came to light following the BBC’s publication of editorial breaches within the corporation.

The corporation said on Tuesday that a number of staff members had been disciplined as a result of the incident.

A statement from the BBC read: “A pre-recorded section of Radio 1’s Jo Whiley Show on April 20 2006 featured a phone competition in which a member of BBC staff posed as a caller from the audience.

It added: “We would like to make clear that Jo Whiley was unaware that the caller was not a genuine member of the public.”

The “competition” was broadcast during a pre-recorded two-hour section of Whiley’s three-hour show.

She pre-recorded two thirds of her show to attend a reception for the opening of the newly refurbished Broadcasting House, the BBC’s radio headquarters in London, an event which was attended by the Queen.

All the show was presented to listeners as though it was live.

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