Biggest BBC radio rants of all time after Arielle Free's tense on-air clash
BBC Radio 1's stint in Ibiza has got everyone talking this week, but perhaps not for reasons the public service broadcaster intended when originally planning its trip to the White Isle.
Presenter Arielle Free, who had DJs for the station on Friday and Saturday afternoons, clashed with pal Charlie Hedges during her set broadcasting from Ibiza Rocks hotel over the weekend – resulting in her being taken off air by her co-star after less than 45 seconds of chaos.
Before being ordered off the airwaves, Arielle, 36, told Charlie she "hated" one of the tracks she was playing, and told her she "expected better" from her set. Charlie, 37, cut off her microphone, telling her to "have some respect" and told her to "get out" of her DJ area, while whoops and shouting could be heard in the background.
After the tense on-air exchange during Saturday evening’s Dance Anthems broadcast, Arielle was later taken off air for the week. As the fallout from the tense clash unfolds, we take a look back at some of the public-sector station's biggest live dramas over the years. From Chris Moyles fuming about his pay to Danny Baker's on-air rant about his BBC employers, there has certainly been no shortage of explosive broadcasts...
Vernon Kay
These days, Vernon Kay is busy entertaining Radio 2 listeners after taking over broadcasting legend Ken Bruce's mid-morning slot earlier this year but the dad-of-two, 49, was one of the biggest names on Radio 1's roster from 2004 until his departure in December 2012.
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Tess Daly and Vernon Kay's strong marriage was rocked back in 2010 (Dave Benett/Getty Images)
The dad-of-two apologised live on Radio 1 following claims he had been sexting model Rhian Sugden (Rhian Sugden/Instagram)On Saturday 13 February 2010, Vernon made an on-air apology while hosting his weekend show amid reports in the press regarding his personal life. The Family Fortunes presenter, who had been married to Tess Daly for seven years at the time, had been accused of sending sexually explicit text and social media messages to model Rhian Sugden every day for four months.
Vernon issued a public apology to his Strictly Come Dancing co-host wife and his family at the start of his Radio 1 show, saying: "Now this week you may or may not be aware that because of some foolish and stupid decisions I have made, I have disappointed and I have let down a lot of people. To my family and everybody, I am very sorry."
The I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! star was accused of reconnecting with glamour model Rhian again five years later in 2015. Kay then took to Facebook to explain, saying: "I was contacted by Rhian out of the blue back in December regarding the story in 2010 claiming she had information she wanted to pass on.
"I recognise how it may look when messages are pulled out of context but there was never any inappropriate intent to our communication, I was merely trying to find answers to questions that I've had since 2010. Tess is aware of everything that has been discussed with Rhian."
Vernon and Tess, who share two daughters together, have seemingly put the drama behind them and remain happily married to this day.
Chris Moyles
2010 was a chaotic year for Radio 1, with Vernon's grovelling on-air apology to Tess soon followed by self-proclaimed saviour of the station Chris Moyles hitting out at BBC bosses and accusing them of a "huge lack of respect" as he revealed he hadn't been paid for several months.
Chris, who presented Radio 1's breakfast programme from 2004 until 2012, told listeners he was "very, very angry" as he fumed live on-air in September 2010. The DJ fumed the BBC could not "be bothered" to pay him and ranted: "Why should I come in? It's a two-way street. What annoys me is the fact I mentioned it to people this week. Fix it, just get it fixed. It's a huge lack of respect and a massive FU to me."
The I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! star, 49, continued: "Can you imagine if Terry Wogan had not got paid for two months, would you even think that would ever happen? It just wouldn't, would it? Do you ever think anyone would forget to pay Chris Evans for two months and nobody would panic about it?"
The DJ was not happy about being paid lateChris – who now broadcasts on Radio X – continued to rant and speak about the situation for around 30 minutes, with no songs played during his tirade. The Yorkshire born star took issue with listeners texting in to complain about his decision to use his show to air his grievances.
The star, who the following year crossed the picket lines of his colleagues during the 2011 BBC strike against compulsory redundancies, picked out one critic's text who claimed he should be grateful to be well paid and to have a private driver. Chris hit back with: "You know nothing about my life. And by the way, what, because I get paid more than you that means if I don't get paid for two months I should just go 'oh well'?
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"And, by the way, I slept on someone's sofa last night so don't speak to me about my life, you have no idea, my friend. If you really have a problem with that I'm telling you now I'll pay your licence fee and you can switch off and listen to someone else. Go and read the Daily Mail, you miserable fart."
Danny Baker
Danny Baker launched an on-air rant about his bosses and branded them "pinheaded weasels" on social media after his BBC London radio show was axed in November 2012. The comedian, 66, used his two-hour afternoon programme to blast BBC management after discovering his slot on the station had been cancelled, telling listeners: "The show's been cancelled by the BBC. They don't want this any more. It's a dirty rotten shame and a rotten way they did it. Nobody phoned me. Apparently they were planning on getting round to telling me. I don't want to go, I make no bones about it."
'BBC asked me not to say anything just yet about axing best show on British radio,' the DJ claimed in 2010 (David Sandison/The Independent/R)Danny - who was fired by the BBC in 2019, after showing a "serious error of judgement" over his tweet about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's baby son Archie – then took to Twitter to fume: "BBC asked me not to say anything just yet about axing best show on British radio. Why? Because it's embarrassing? Because they'll look bad?" He went on to add: "Deep thanks to everyone who has responded about the radio. We dwell amid pinheaded weasels who know only timid, the generic and the abacus."
Zoe Ball
Zoe Ball has enjoyed a long career with the BBC, from becoming the first female solo host of the Radio 1 breakfast show in 1997 to currently being the corporation's highest paid radio presenter thanks to earning £980,000 as the host of Radio 2's Zoe Ball Breakfast Show.
During her Radio 1 days, Zoe was the hard-partying, highly-paid queen of the ladettes, blazing a trail for rebellious women across the country. Speaking earlier this year, the 52-year-old admitted she only has "vague memories" of her two and a half years at the helm of one of the UK's biggest radio shows.
"It was quite a time. It was the nineties. It was wild," Zoe confessed to the Mirror in March. By the time she fell for now ex-husband Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, in 1998, they were a match made in hedonistic heaven, meeting in Ibiza when Zoe was hosting the breakfast show from the party island.
The pair famously stayed up all night, with Norman delivering Zoe to the breakfast show fresh from a night on the lash. The mum-of-two admitted she was so "high" while she was hosting the live broadcast from the island that she had trouble speaking, recalling: "As the show finished and my high from the night before started to fade, I looked around at the Radio 1 people and thought, 'I might get the sack.'"
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