When BBC Breakfast won the first Bafta in its 25-year history this year, the champagne flowed and its editor, Richard Frediani, couldn’t stop smiling.
Stepping on to the stage to collect the prestigious award – granted for the programme’s coverage of the Post Office scandal – was the culmination of years of hard work.
Yet it came at a price. Months later Frediani – known as Fredi – extended his leave following complaints about his alleged mistreatment of staff. He was on extended leave when the investigation began but is understood to have returned to work.
Now it seems another senior employee is under the BBC microscope: its popular but controversial female anchor, Naga Munchetty.
For weeks now, I’m told, those close to Frediani have been throwing mud at the Breakfast host as a form of retaliation for her role in defying him.
‘This is all Richard’s doing,’ an insider tells me. ‘It’s disgusting. She is being dragged into all of the grotty male behaviour at the BBC because she dared stand up to Richard. She’s being treated like Jermaine Jenas, Wynne Evans and Gregg Wallace all rolled into one.’
Jenas is the football pundit sacked by the BBC last year over a sexting scandal. Evans stepped down for making lewd comments on Strictly Come Dancing.
Wallace, meanwhile, was sacked this year from his role as MasterChef host after 45 allegations of misconduct were upheld against him.
Naga first found herself under scrutiny in June over two alleged incidents, said to have taken place over three years, including one accusation that she bullied a junior member of staff – a complaint, I’m told, that was not upheld.
It was also reported that she was hauled in to bosses after making a sex jibe while she was working in her other BBC role at Radio 5 Live.
Having been made privy to this comment, I understand it was not directed at anyone but instead was a question to another woman about a rude picture.
This week it was reported that Naga has been accused of high-handed behaviour, belittling junior staff over how she likes her toast.
‘It needed to be a little bit burnt but not too much. And if you didn’t get it right she would never shout at you but she would act as if it was a really stupid mistake to make,’ one former staff member told the Telegraph.
‘Instead she would be like, ‘Oh, they can’t get the toast right, they can’t do anything’.’
There was a separate story this week alleging that Naga had ‘kicked off’ at an intern over how they spread Marmite on her toast, had complained that her porridge was too hot and said she didn’t like the blueberries on top.
She is now, apparently, under review – something Frediani’s circle are said to find ‘absolutely hilarious’.
But as one insider and Naga supporter told me: ‘Richard’s allies have been going hammer and tongs against Naga and all they have managed to come up with is a piece of toast.’
I first revealed allegations about Frediani’s ‘bullish’ managerial manner in April 2020, just months after he started working at the corporation.
A series of complaints had already been made to the BBC’s management and HR department about an ‘intimidating and bullying’ culture on Breakfast, which had led to long-term members of staff leaving their jobs.
One employee, who wished to remain anonymous, told me ‘the whole atmosphere had become poisonous’.
They added: ‘There is a normalisation of people crying at work and on their journeys home. There are favourites and it is made explicitly clear to everyone in the newsroom who they are.’
Until recently, staff would be ignored by Frediani and names would be ‘forgotten’. A select ‘banter’ circle of white, straight men meant there was a culture of ‘boys club favouritism’.
Following the article, I was inundated with messages from people who worked for Frediani when he was at ITV News saying much the same.
In June, I told how he was the subject of at least two misconduct complaints, including one from a woman who had her grievance upheld after claiming that he physically shook her during a heated BBC newsroom exchange last year.
One source said: ‘It’s the women who got it worse from Frediani and his clan. It’s more often than not the women who get humiliated and shouted at.’
I have also been contacted by staff who worked with Frediani at ITV, where he was Head of News, who say that he was also bullish to the lower rank and file, though was very good at ‘managing upwards’ – in other words, keeping in with his superiors.
Last year Frediani had his role expanded to become editor of News At One by chief executive of news Deborah Turness – who was also his boss at ITV News.
‘The fury is real about that decision,’ one staff member tells me.
The catalyst for Naga coming under scrutiny, and seemingly falling out of favour, began in 2023 when BBC management set their sights on that coveted Bafta.
Their dogged desire for the award prompted a war between Frediani and Naga as they ‘skirmished’ over who told writers and production staff what to do.
Sources tell me there was no one incident that prompted the fall-out but described it as ‘like watching a slow train coming, as their respective egos bumped along for a while – but the situation simply couldn’t last’.
The staff member added: ‘Frediani was given carte blanche to follow certain stories to the exclusion of others and his chosen stories were pumped up above the normal bland output. It was ‘cheerio’ to anyone who was not on board his train but Naga, as a more rounded journalist, did not like that.
‘She can be very personally irritating but she has a sound journalism grounding. So Fredi and what was left standing of the BBC Breakfast team won that Bafta for the Post Office story. Some BBC management yes men said ‘well done’ but you cannot believe the long-standing pain and ructions this has caused in pursuit of an award.’
Meanwhile, Naga’s co-anchor Charlie Stayt has been left in an invidious position, according to my sources, with both sides chasing his backing and approval.
‘He is beloved by the rank and file but doesn’t have many allies in the creepy mid-management class,’ said the insider.
As for the future of the show, Naga would be forgiven for casting around for a new role, either at Sky or LBC, but it doesn’t look like she’s found anything yet.
One of her colleagues told me they are ‘saddened’ that she feels the need to leave the corporation after 15 years climbing through the ranks to become one of the most recognisable faces (and voices) on the network.
Some of her co-stars are keen to publicly stick up for her but fear being dragged into yet another BBC saga. And that is something no one wants to contemplate.
