BBC Breakfast bosses assign ‘watchdogs’ to Naga Munchetty amid bullying investigation as job ‘hangs by a thread’
BBC bosses have assigned crew “watchdogs” to monitor Naga Munchetty after she was placed under investigation.
The journalist is now only permitted to work with certain producers on BBC Breakfast and Radio 5Live.
The changes come as bosses escalate their review into complaints about her bullying behaviour to a formal probe.
The Sun last week revealed that Naga’s position at the Corporation now hangs by a thread following CEO of BBC News Deborah Turness’ resignation.
A source said: “Naga has not been taken off air but now has certain members of production monitoring her and her interactions.
“She’s only allowed to speak to specific people too.
“It’s far from ideal as a way of working and everyone hopes it comes to a head someway or another soon.”
Naga last week parted ways with her long standing showbiz agent M&C Saatchi.
Many reportedly felt that she had been “protected” by Turness, who resigned alongside Tim Davie over the edit of a Trump documentary.
A source said: “The Naga situation has been an Albatross around Breakfast’s neck since June when the endemic bullying at Media City was first exposed by The Sun.
“Whilst others have been cleared, the review on Naga has done the opposite with further complaints against her.
“They had no choice but to take things from the slightly softer ‘under review’ to formal investigation.”
The BBC said: “We do not comment on individual HR matters.”
Severe question marks have hung over Naga’s position since September when complaints against under-fire director Ricahrd Frediani were not upheld following a probe that rocked the award-winning show.
The inquiry, first revealed by The Sun in June, sparked counter-claims against main hosts Munchetty, 50, and Charlie Stayt, 63.
Frediani was backed by Beeb bosses but many saw this as the cue for Naga’s departure.
Stayt remains “under review” for “bullying”, whilst complaints against Naga range from laying into an intern for incorrectly spreading Marmite on her toast through to making an unwelcome, sexual remark to a female colleague.
Some complaints were raised under the BBC’s Call It Out scheme – an initiative set up in the aftermath of the scandal over former MasterChef presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode.
