The individual, who has not yet been identified, is the subject of four separate allegations from young people. The initial claim published in The Sun alleged that the presenter paid a minor for sexually explicit photographs.
Jeremy Vine expressed concern for the mental health of the BBC presenter at the center of the scandal.
Vine, who also hosts an afternoon show on BBC Radio 2, stated on his Channel 5 program, “It’s his decision, but I believe he needs to come forward now.
“I know his survival instinct has kicked in, and I know he saw what happened to Phillip Schofield, but my God, look at the damage to the BBC, look at the damage to his friends, look at the damage to those falsely accused—and the longer he leaves it, the worse it will be for him.”
Vine stated that he “thought very deliberately” before posting a tweet on Tuesday night urging the unnamed presenter to identify himself, adding, “I know the individual in question. I am extremely concerned about his mental state and what this is doing to him.”
He continued, “I haven’t spoken to him, but I’ve heard from someone who has that he’s furious and eager to play it out.
“This indicates to me that he wishes to remain anonymous for as long as feasible in the hopes of returning to the building one day.
However, Vine stated that the presenter will not be able to “remain anonymous forever” while continuing to work for the broadcaster and that he “will have to answer” the allegations.
“Now, he must present a defense. He must. Perhaps he will claim there was a misunderstanding? Well, I presume it,” Vine said.
Vine added that his wife feared for his safety when he attended a Bruce Springsteen concert over the weekend following a social media frenzy of fraudulent accusations against several BBC presenters.
“I was going to see Bruce Springsteen on the weekend, and my wife asked me, ‘Are you going to be secure there?’
“That’s how serious this situation is,” he said. “She gave me a baseball cap and told me to wear it.”
The unnamed presenter was suspended over the weekend after The Sun reported that he had paid a young person tens of thousands of pounds for sexually explicit photographs.
The BBC reported on Tuesday that the presenter was accused of sending menacing messages to another young person in their early 20s who has no connection to The Sun’s accuser.
The Sun reported that a third individual, aged 23, claimed the presenter violated COVID rules to meet them during a national curfew in February 2021.
Separately, The Sun has published messages allegedly sent to a 17-year-old after an October 2018 Instagram conversation was initiated.
The newspaper reported that the communications contained kisses and love heart emojis.
The person, who is now 22 years old, was quoted as saying, “In retrospect, it does seem creepy that he was messaging me while I was still in school.”
