BBC in ‘woke row’ over claims Nigel Farage will NEVER be invited on Desert Island Discs
Reform UK’s leader is seen as unacceptable by many BBC staff, a source claims
Nigel Farage says the BBC’s ‘blatant bias’ has been ‘obvious for years’ (Image: Getty)
Nigel Farage has accused the BBC of bias amid a claim he would not be invited to appear as a guest on Desert Island Discs. The claim reportedly appears in a new biography of Reform UK‘s leader written by the Conservatives‘ former deputy chairman, Lord Ashcroft.
The peer cites an unnamed BBC source as claiming Mr Farage has “effectively been blacklisted” from the BBC Radio 4 programme, where guests are “cast away” on a fictional desert island at the end of an interview about their lives during which they share eight of their favourite songs. Mr Farage, responding to the claim, said he has come to expect nothing less from the BBC.
Desert Island Discs is presented by Lauren Laverne (Image: Getty)
He told the Mail on Sunday: “Their blatant bias has been obvious for years. The BBC will have a rude awakening under a Reform government.”
The BBC told the same publication it does not ban people from appearing on the show and this includes Mr Farage.
In the book, entitled The Farage Factor, the source claims Reform UK’s leader is seen as unacceptable by many BBC staff.
They claim at least half the staff would consider Radio 4 an “unsafe space” if Mr Farage were to appear.
A member of Mr Farage’s team is reported to have contacted Radio 4, asking if the politician would qualify as a guest.
The Mail reports the answer came back that the show’s producers weren’t looking for new castaways at the time.
Mr Farage’s team member was told bookings are made over “quite a long time period” and few active politicians feature as guests.
The BBC is reported to have also said it ensures a range of voices feature in the show and it would keep revisit Mr Farage’s interest for a future series.
Mr Farage has previously accused the BBC of left-wing bias. He has called for the licence fee under its current form to be scrapped, but stopped short of calling for the BBC to be abolished.
A BBC source told the Mail the choice of guests on Desert Island Discs is editorially driven and it welcomes a range of contributors on the programme including politicians, authors, academics and well-known names across many fields to discuss their lives through their love of music.
The source added: “When making decisions about the very few active front-line politicians we have on the programme, we make the bookings over quite a long time period ensuring a range of voices.
“We are always open to inviting guests from across the political spectrum and have said we would be happy to revisit [Mr Farage’s] interest for a future series.”
