Exclusive: Tony Livesey has parted ways with BBC Radio 5 Live after featuring in a BBC investigation into his former Daily Sport boss David Sullivan12:29, 03 Aug 2026Updated 12:33, 03 Aug 2026Tony Livesey will not return to his Radio 5 Live show after featuring in a BBC investigation into David Sullivan, it was revealed today.In a letter sent to staff, seen by the Mirror, the BBC said Livesey would be leaving the BBC after a 16-year-stint with 5 Live.Heidi Dawson, Controller, BBC Radio 5 Live said: "I wanted to let you know that Tony Livesey has decided to leave his presenting role on 5 Live."Tony has worked at 5 Live for 16 years and was the first voice for us on air as we launched from our new home in Salford. Tony built a loyal late night audience, often with our greatly missed colleague, Rachael Bland, at his side."He went on to be the voice of our iconic Drive show for 10 years where he was at the heart of our coverage of Brexit. He reported from the Falkland Islands and RAF Akrotiri, and was a key part of our presenting team at the London and Paris Olympics as well as hosting our Wimbledon coverage for six years. Tony grew Drive’s audience, particularly through Covid alongside Anna Foster with positive stories of hope that the audience were desperate to hear."Tony has been at the heart of our coverage of every major news and sporting event for a decade and a half. He won prestigious ARIAS and APA awards for his reporting about how it feels to lose your Mum as a child, and an ARIAS Gold award after he was asked by Dame Deborah James to conduct her last ever interview."Commending him for growing the audience since rejoining the Lates show in 2024, Helen added: "Tony has asked me to pass on his heartfelt thanks to the brilliant colleagues at 5 Live who he has had the pleasure of working with over the years. I know many of you have also really enjoyed working with Tony, and we wish him well for all his future endeavours."The decision comes nearly two months after the broadcast of the Panorama programme looking into Sullivan and his behaviour towards women whilst he was owner of the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport.The programme was titled Predator: The Billionaire Football Boss. It spoke to seven women who claimed Sullivan was sexually exploitative towards them, which he “categorically denies”. He said he was quitting as West Ham director to fight what he said were false allegations about his conduct.Tony Livesey was editor-in-chief of the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport newspapers before going on to work at the BBC, where he landed his own show on 5 Live in 2010. It meant he worked alongside Sullivan for a number of years.On Panorama, one women identified as ‘Florence’ said Livesey had introduced her to Sullivan, who then arranged for her to visit his home.Livesey said he had "no recollection" of putting a woman on the phone to speak to Sullivan as Florence described and insisted to Panorama that it had not been part of his role to introduce anyone to him.He went on to tell the programme he had "great sympathy for a woman who may have become a victim", but he also rejected any suggestion that he had played "any role whatsoever in that scenario”. He also said he found the allegation “abhorrent".The BBC Panorama pointed to a passage in Livesey’s 1998 book saying that he and Sullivan had devised the idea for the “countdown to 16” feature, which featured countdowns to models’ 16th birthdays, when they could be pictured topless legally for the first time.Livesey has since said the feature was “categorically” not his idea and that large parts of his book were “fictionalised” to make it appear he was “at the centre of all stories”, even if he had not been.On June 9, the BBC put out a statement saying that Livesey had “asked to step back from presenting his radio show for a short period” while management was “considering the matters raised by the programme”. They have now made a more permanent decision.Livesey, 62, was not on air presenting his late-night 5 Live show on June 8, which normally airs from 10pm-1am, and has not been on air since. He became editor-in-chief at the Sport titles after starting as a reporter and spent 18 years at the company. He then left twenty years ago, in 2006, to concentrate on his broadcasting career at the BBC.Sullivan, 77, has said he "categorically denies" the claims in the joint investigation with Panorama and The Times. The allegations span the period when he made a fortune from pornography, newspapers and football. In a statement he said: "After very careful consideration and with a heavy heart, I have decided to resign as joint-chair and director of West Ham United FC with immediate effect."This has been an incredibly painful decision to make, but it is one made out of love, respect, and responsibility toward a football club and a fan base that deserve absolute unity and focus moving forward." He said he was doing so to fight what he said were false allegations about his conduct.He added: ”After a lifetime spent building businesses in the adult industry in which I have met thousands of women, it is sadly inevitable that a small number of improper conduct claims are being made against me.”Article continues belowHe went on to say: "I believe the entire process has been fundamentally unfair and completely lacking in any due impartiality. The false allegations levelled against me have been sensationalised by the media"I will be suing the BBC for libel, along with any other media outlet that repeats any libellous allegations. None of these allegations relate to my more than 30 years in football. I am stepping down to apply my full energy and attention on fighting these false allegations.”Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .