Senior MPs threaten to blow lid on dark side of TV industry by launching a probe into its ‘open secrets’
SENIOR MPs last night threatened to blow the lid off the dark side of Britain's TV industry by launching a major probe into "open secrets" in showbiz.
Commons culture committee chair Caroline Dineage said small screen bosses could be hauled into Parliament to explain why they keep failing to safeguard boys and women from predatory male celebs.
It comes as a bombshell expose last weekend saw comedian Russell Brand, 48, accused of rape, sexual assault and abuse by four women.
A spokesperson for PM Rishi Sunak described the allegations as "deeply concerning" and urged victims of sexual assault to contact the Met.
They said: "These are very serious and concerning allegations.
“The PM has been clear that there should never be any space for harassment, regardless of where it is found.”
Read More on Politics
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer will soon meet with BBC and Channel 4 chiefs to find out how they intend to probe claims levelled against Brand during his time at the broadcasters.
No10 warned that any investigation by Beeb bosses must be "transparent".
The comedian's alleged behaviour has been described as an “open secret” among senior TV and radio executives.
Ms Dineage told Times Radio: "This is just the latest in what seemed to be a stream of these reports about culture in our TV industry, reports about situations where things were an open secret, things where people turned a blind eye, all these kind of phrases that we hear.
Most read in The Sun
"And I just don't think it's good enough.
"So it's not beyond the realms of possibility that the committee that I'm chair of may decide that we're going to do a full on inquiry into this kind of behaviour at the heart of television."
A Commons inquiry could see BBC bosses grilled on allegations that top news presenter Huw Edwards paid thousands to a teen who sent him sexual images.
And ITV chiefs could be forced to reveal what they knew about ex-This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield pursuing a six-month affair with a much younger male colleague.