Do YOU have a story? Email tips@dailymail.com See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy ADAM POGRUND, REPORTER and SOPHIE CARLIN, REPORTER and KATIE HIND, CONSULTANT EDITOR SHOWBUSINESS Published: 14:37 BST, 19 July 2026 | Updated: 17:27 BST, 19 July 2026
BBC bosses forced Radio 5 Live presenter Nicky Campbell to apologise after he used the term 'poofter' while telling an anecdote in a work meeting, the Daily Mail can reveal.The broadcaster, 65, who has worked for the company for nearly 40 years, used the homophobic term in reported speech as he recounted a story.It is understood to have taken place during a private work meeting last week with around six editors and producers of his show.It is claimed Campbell used the word as he was telling an anecdote about an incident in which someone else had said it. A BBC editor is thought to have rushed to apologise for any offence caused when the meeting ended. The veteran presenter was then hauled back into a face-to-face meeting with the team and made to say sorry. A source told the Daily Mail: 'At the time, about half the people were saying, "What the f***", but others were laughing about it.'But there's been a growing backlash since then. There are people who could be really offended by the comment.'The BBC declined to comment – and refused to say if Campbell would face disciplinary action. His representatives have been approached for comment. Nicky Campbell reportedly used the homophobic slur multiple times during a meeting last week with around six editors and producers of his show. Pictured: Campbell appearing on ITV chat show Loose Women in 2024 The journalist, 65, is a veteran BBC broadcaster, having worked across several of BBC Radio 5 Live's offerings since joining the station in 1997Campbell is a veteran BBC journalist, having worked across several of BBC Radio 5 Live's programmes since joining the station in 1997, which followed a ten-year stint at Radio 1.He co-presented 5 Live's Breakfast show for nearly 20 years before departing in 2021 to get 'a bit more sleep', as he remarked jokingly at the time.The Scottish broadcaster now hosts a two-hour phone-in programme, Your Call, from 9am to 11am weekdays, a new expansion of a slot that was previously part of the Breakfast show.It is the latest controversy to hit BBC Radio 5 Live, after another of its presenters was forced to 'step back' from his role last month.Tony Livesey stopped hosting his week-night show on 5 Live following sexual abuse allegations against his former colleague David Sullivan.Livesey, 62, previously worked as editor-in-chief of Sullivan's Sport Newspapers.Several women have accused Sullivan, a billionaire businessman and West Ham co-owner, of abusing his power and preying on them for sex, in some cases when they were teenagers.Sullivan, 77, has strenuously denied the allegations, made in a joint investigation by The Times and the BBC's Panorama. One alleged victim said Livesey had arranged a meeting between her and Sullivan in 1999.The BBC said the broadcaster, who firmly denied the claims, had asked to take a break from presenting while the allegations were examined. Another BBC Radio 5 Live scandal was revealed in June, which caused Tony Livesey to step down from his presenting roleCampbell started his broadcasting career presenting for Northsound Radio in Aberdeen while he studied history at the University of Aberdeen.After submitting a tape to Capital Radio in London, he was given the Saturday afternoon show, soon taking over the breakfast slot and serving as the station's main reserve presenter.The journalist joined the BBC in 1987, starting on Radio 1's late-night Saturday programme before later taking on a variety of slots across the station.He left briefly in 1993 to care for his then-wife, Linda Larnach, who was at the time ill with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Campbell returned to Radio 1 for two years from 1994 before moving to Radio 5 Live in 1997.
