The BBC has revealed that a total of 6 complaints were received about the behaviour of Tim Westwood- one of which was referred to the police and was described by representatives as; “historic” and “found in its files.”. This is since the Director-General of the BBC Tim Davie said at the time; “we have looked at our records and seen no evidence of complaints”.

The representatives of the beloved broadcasting company went on to say; “We are establishing the facts around it”-saying the matter; “did not relate to conduct at the BBC, BBC premises, or conduct towards a BBC staff member, nor was it an accusation of physical assault.”

The 5 other complaints have not been brought to the attention of the police and the BBC at this time declines to share when they were received and whether they came after the statements made by Davie.

The Statement from the BBC read; “As we have said, if people have things that they want to raise with the BBC, then they should do so. People have now done so and we will continue to investigate.  We also said that we would dig into what happened in the past. We are doing that with great care. All of that work hasn’t concluded and is ongoing. We said we would take this seriously, and we are. When that work has concluded, we will say more.”

The allegations against Tim Westwood were the product of an investigation by the BBC and the Guardian and also were featured in a BBC documentary titled; Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power.

 The victims range in age from late teens to 20s and their stories share a commonality in that often Mr Westwood took advantage of his notoriety in the UK’s rap and RNB scene to carry out the assaults. As stated by one of the alleged victims; “He could make or break your career, if you wanted to get any kind of exposure, you would try to get your demo to him and pray that he would play it. He had absolute power. Within the recording industry and the black community, despite him being a white man, he had absolute power.”

Born in East Anglia as the son of the former Anglican Bishop of Peterborough, Westwood first made a name for himself in the late 80s as a budding radio DJ who championed Hip-Hop, Grime and R’N’B in the UK. With a myriad of shows and TV appearances, Westwood was seen by many as a controversial figure. However, his popularity which has grown considerably over his many years in broadcasting has made him a figurehead in the UK rap scene.

Yet currently as part of a joint investigation conducted by the BBC and The Guardian, 7 women (all of whom are black, and range in ages from their late teens to early 20s at the time of the alleged assaults) have stepped forward to speak out against Westwood publicly. Their stories will come to light in an upcoming BBC 3 documentary titled; Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power which will air at 21:00 tonight (26^th April 2022).The victims’ identities remain anonymous at this time and bear no affiliation to one another. The Guardian’s breaking story stated that; “Three women have accused the DJ of opportunistic and predatory sexual behaviour, while four others allege they were groped by him at events.”

Tamara (alias), who was 17 at the time she first encountered Westwood (who at the time was in his mid-30s and lauded as a tastemaker in the music world) explained; “He could make or break your career, if you wanted to get any kind of exposure, you would try to get your demo to him and pray that he would play it. He had absolute power. Within the recording industry and the black community, despite him being a white man, he had absolute power.”

With the alleged actions taking place both publicly and domestically, such stories about Tim Westwood had previously surfaced online back in 2020. In the age of social media, the topic of sexual abuse and the search for justice for those affected has become widely discussed. The platforms give rise to victims acting together, in order to bring such issues to light.

Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power is available to stream now on BBC IPlayer and will be broadcast on terrestrial TV this evening at 21:00 BST.

If you or someone you know want to find help regarding sexual assault, follow the link here.