Bullying row, theft claims & crude off-air jokes – Naga Munchetty’s downfall as she quits BBC Breakfast after 17 years

THIS morning the under fire TV presenter Naga Munchetty, who has a reputation for being tough and difficult at times, finally quit the BBC Breakfast Show Although The Sun revealed months ago that Naga, 51, was being probed over endemic bullying and a slew of misconduct allegations levelled against her, she was not taken off air as the long running investigation rumbled on. Off air tensions were rife between Charlie and Naga Credit: BBC How we revealed the internal investigation Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd While she and co-host Charlie Stayt, 64, were all smiles when the cameras were rolling, there was said to be a toxic atmosphere between the pair on the show they presented together three days a week. Now she is joining Radio 5 Live’s flagship morning show, taking over from Rachel Burden and Rick Edwards. Sign up for the TV newsletter Thank you! Famously prickly, Naga has been at the centre of of furore over a series of controversies and bullying claims during her 17 years at the Beeb. She was hauled in by top brass over an extraordinary sex jibe, scornful remarks about Sally Nugent’s glow up and was embroiled in an awkward clash with Geri Halliwell-Horner The presenter was accused of making an unwelcome sex jibe during an ad break while hosting her radio show. It emerged that she used a crude term for a sex act, and asked a female colleague if they had ever done it. Other complaints against Naga included laying into an intern for spreading Marmite on her toast incorrectly, and we revealed that she had been reprimanded by bosses for bullying a junior member of the team. She also faced complaints after a very awkward clash with Spice Girl Geri. BBC bosses were forced to apologise following the interview in October 2023, when Naga asked her ‘Do you not like being interviewed?’ Most read in Showbiz After the segment ended, Geri allegedly said she did not want to appear on the show opposite her ever again. There were also a string of spiky comments aimed at former weather presenter Carol Kirkwood who she called ‘really stern’ and once stated she had ‘aged a bit.’ During a segment to mark Carol’s retirement earlier this year Naga prompted complaints from viewers when she said: “I’m just waiting for the countdown for you to go!” And amid the lingering uncertainty over Naga’s position in February, we reported how she made a shocking dig at fellow presenter Sally Nugent when she unveiled a glam new look. She apparently ranted at Sally, 54: “We’re meant to be serious journalists, not trying to look like we’re presenting This Morning.” An insider explained at the time: “Sally’s had a glow-up and her new do is looking fantastic. But it ruffled feathers as is often the way in the showbiz industry. “There were a couple of remarks about it and Naga particularly made a comment about them being journalists not This Morning hosts. “Things have been ticking along fairly quietly for the last couple of months whilst the bullying investigations continued but this was a nasty little moment.” Naga was said to be scornful of Sally Nugent’s glow up Credit: BBC Viewers complained about the way Naga spoke to Carol Kirkwood Credit: Eroteme Naga’s bullying situation was described as an ‘albatross around BBC’s neck’ Credit: Splash Naga was reportedly bringing in around £360,000 a year Credit: BBC The drama came as BBC News chief Deborah Turness resigned over the botched editing of one of Donald Trump’s speeches by Panorama. An insider told us at the time: “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. “Of course, her detractors are gossiping that the timing with Deborah’s departure isn’t exactly a coincidence.” To add to her ongoing woes it was also widely reported that Naga was paid almost double that of co-presenter Charlie dwarfing his pay thanks to her work on Radio 5 and a string of lucrative corporate gigs. Naga’s fat salary dwarfed that of co-star Charlie Stayt Credit: Splash Naga complained on her Radio show about DVDs going missing Credit: BBC Richard Frediani reportedly took an extended period of leave after an internal review of bullying and misconduct allegations Credit: BBC Naga breached guidelines by criticising Donald Trump Credit: AFP Naga was raking in a staggering £360,000 a year. Naga’s conduct was first thrown into doubt when BBC Breakfast’s former under-fire director Richard Frediani reportedly took an extended period of leave after an internal review of bullying and misconduct allegations rocked the award-winning show. Frediani, who was previously accused of shaking a female colleague and aggressive behaviour, was backed by Beeb bosses but that inquiry sparked the initial counter-claims against Naga. Naga makes extra money from lucrative corporate speaking gigs Credit: Getty Debroah Turness quit over Panorama’s coverage of a speech by Donald Trump Credit: Getty Back in 2019, Naga had breached BBC guidelines by criticising Donald Trump for perceived racism. She took issue with comments made by the US President after he told opponents to ‘go back’ to the ‘places from which they came’. Speaking on BBC Breakfast at the time, Naga said: “Every time I have been told, as a woman of colour, to go back to where I came from, that was embedded in racism. “Now I’m not accusing anyone of anything here, but you know what certain phrases mean.” Naga said she felt ‘absolutely furious’ and suggested many people in the UK might feel the same way. “I can imagine lots of people in this country will be feeling absolutely furious that a man in that position feels it’s okay to skirt the lines with using language like that,” she told co-presenter Dan Walker. The BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit [ECU] ruled that the Breakfast host was entitled to her own views but had gone ‘beyond what the guidelines allow for’. A year earlier she had a brutally awkward encounter with Sir David Attenborough when she tried to ask him uncomfortable questions about the Royal Family. He cut her off and snapped: “I wanted to talk about the Big Butterfly Count, that’s why you invited me here.” In 2021 Naga was forced to issue a public apology for liking tweets that disparaged the then Housing Secretary Rubert Jenrick over his use of a Union Flag. Some viewer 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. In the wake of the complaints involving sexualised comments, crude remarks and unprofessional behaviour by the longstanding hosts, we told how BBC bosses had been assigned “watchdogs” to monitor Naga after she was placed under investigation. In April this year, the news anchor was mortified after being targeted by AI deepfake nudes in a disturbing new scam. Naga explained how ‘conniving and manipulative’ scammers edited her head onto a naked body for clickbait. “I wasn’t upset that my face was on a naked body, because I knew it was fake, but the fact that it was being used to lure people into being scammed made me so mad,” she said. “I am outraged and furious.” In June 2022 Naga made a desperate plea after a prized item was stolen during a discussion about lending and borrowing during her radio show. She said: “I have a boxset of the West Wing – which is an amazing series. “And I leant out series one, and I’ve never had it back. “I have haunted all my friends, asking them – accusing them, basically – of having it. It bothers me no end, because I like things very neat and tidy. “So, if anyone has that, please can I have it back?” 1 comment1