The BBC licence fee is under renewed scrutiny following a series of controversies (Image: Getty)
is under renewed scrutiny following a series of controversies and an .
And with public trust in the broadcaster wavering, many are questioning whether the licence fee should continue.
The cost of a is due to increase by £5 in April 2025, rising to £174.50 per year.
This follows a £10.50 hike earlier this year and forms part of an agreement to adjust the fee annually in line with inflation until 2027.
While the government plans to review the ‘s charter, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said a “national conversation” is needed to decide the corporation’s long-term funding model.
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The cost of a TV licence is due to increase by £5 in April 2025. (Image: Getty)
“The provides much-needed programming for households across the country,” Ms Nandy said.
She added: “I want to see it thrive for decades to come, but the funding model must be fair and responsive to those who pay for it.”
However, recent controversies have raised doubts over the ’s direction and accountability.
, who stepped back from MasterChef following allegations of inappropriate behaviour over 17 years.
Thirteen individuals have accused him of making inappropriate sexual jokes.
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Recent controversies have raised doubts over the BBC’s direction and accountability. (Image: Getty)
Wallace has denied the claims, calling them “unfair”. In a video posted on he also said: “I’ve been doing MasterChef for 20 years, amateur, celebrity and professional MasterChef, and I think in that time I have worked with over 4,000 contestants of all different ages, all different backgrounds, all walks of life.
“Apparently now, I’m reading in the paper, there’s been 13 complaints in that time. In the newspaper, I can see the complaints coming from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age, just from Celebrity MasterChef. This isn’t right.”
In March 2023, sports presenter also in which he compared the wording in the British government’s “Illegal Migration Bill” to the rhetoric of Germany in the 1930s.
He was subsequently suspended for what the said was a violation of its impartiality policy.
With other sports presenters supporting Lineker by refusing to work, the changed the format of its sports output, including shortening Match of the Day and broadcasting it with crowd noise rather than a commentary.
In July 2023, Huw Edwards was also accused of paying for explicit photos from a young person.
Although police found no evidence of a crime, Edwards faced further allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
suspended for two years, after he admitted charges of making indecent images of children in 2024.
The disgraced former newsreader admitted having 41 images, which were sent to him on WhatsApp – including some showing a victim aged between seven and nine.