Stonewall Bully of the Year Chris Moyles: ‘The BBC don’t want to upset anyone’
Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles has said that radio is so dull and boring, he and fellow presenter Jonathan Ross stand out.
The pair have both been accused of homophobia for comments made in their shows. Moyles was attacked by LGBT groups in June 2006 for calling a ringtone ‘gay’, and was ruled to have breached the broadcasting code this year for comments he made about gay singer Will Young.
The BBC received more than 60 complaints in May after Ross joked that gay children should be adopted. Ross was also suspended from the BBC for three months without pay last year following an incident in which he and Russell Brand made obscene phone calls to actor Andrew Sachs.
Speaking to Radio Times, Moyles criticised lengthy bureaucracy and said it was impossible to keep everyone happy.
He said: “The BBC is in a very weird state where they just don’t want to upset anybody.
“Everything now needs to be signed, sealed and approved 18 times.
“We’re not trying to change the world, but because radio is so dull, so boring and so formulaic, and anyone different – me or Jonathan – stands out.
“So the BBC is throwing down rules and regulations on you and then the newspapers are saying certain things and you’re just trying to juggle everything while keeping everyone happy at the same time.
“And the reality is that you can’t keep everyone happy all the time.”
Since the ‘Sachsgate’ affair, the BBC has strengthened compliance systems and Jonathan Ross’ BBC Radio Two show is now pre-recorded.
Moyles was named “Bully of the Year” by Stonewall in 2006.
