REFORM UK leader Nigel Farage has accused the BBC of being biased after claims he has been “banned” from appearing on Desert Island Discs.
A new biography has revealed the politician’s presence on the show would make staff feel “unsafe”.
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The Reform UK leader has criticised the broadcaster of woke nonsense Credit: REUTERS
Lauren Laverne hosts the BBC Radio 4 show every Jattvibeday morning
BBC producers are also alleged to fear backlash from other guests, who may rebel against Farage’s presence.
The right-wing politician told The Mail on Jattvibeday: “I have come to expect nothing less from the BBC – their blatant bias has been obvious for years.
“The BBC will have a rude awakening under a Reform government.”
The broadcaster has responded, however, claiming they do not ban any one individual from their Desert Island Discs show – including Farage.
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A spokesperson for the BBC said: “As we are now well into production on our latest series, we’re not currently looking for new castaways.
“When making decisions about the very few active politicians we have on the programme, we make the bookings over quite a long time period ensuring a range of voices.”
They added they will stay in touch and “revisit Nigel’s interest for a future series”.
The claims originated from a biography of Reform UK‘s leader, written by Lord Ashcroft.
The former Conservative deputy chairman quotes a BBC source in the book, stating Farage has been essentially barred.
Desert Island Discs is a radio show where a guest is brought on and asked to imagine they are stranded indefinitely on a deserted island.
They are then told they must choose eight recorded tracks, one book, and one luxury item to take with them – all discussed on the show.
The BBC show has been running for 84 years, and at its peak had 2.91 million listeners weekly.
Farage’s upcoming biography goes on to detail political bias, with an alleged source claiming half of Radio 4 staff would feel unsafe in his presence.
The book is set to be published next month – titled The Farage Factor.
This is not the first time the controversial leader has been in hot water with the BBC.
He has previously called for the licence fee to be scrapped, stating it’s completely unsustainable.
Farage has also threatened to boycott the broadcasting company before after they quizzed him on problematic comments from his youth.
