A ROW has broken out between two BBC Radio 5 Live hosts following an “insulting” email.
Reports claim Tony Livesey and Clare McDonnell have been involved in a bitter row after an alleged message was accidently sent by Livesey to his co-host. In it, it's claimed the 60-year-old was unkind about her presenting ability.
The pair have presented the 5 Live drivetime show together since February 2022. However, it's said she has now refused to work with him again following the alleged messages.
A source told The Sun McDonnell had received a message in which he was "slagging her off". They said she was left "livid" by the comments.
“She no longer wants to work with him and that has caused total chaos at the station. People are being shifted all over the shop and into different slots, which isn’t going down well,” they said.
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"Clare is well within her right to be angry — but it’s made the atmosphere at 5 Live really frosty.”
Recently the pair have not appeared on the show together and have instead alternated their slots, with Johnny l'Anso joining McDonnell on Monday and Tuesday this week.
On Wednesday and Thursday, Livesey (below) teamed up with Leila Nathoo.
He will soon be on the 10pm -1am slot in which he first began on the station in 2010. He is set to be replaced in the drivetime slot by Chris Warburton.
The insider added: “Tony has lost a really good gig because of that message to Clare. It’s a massive kick in the teeth for him. Clare is happy she was listened to by station bosses and thinks Tony has got exactly what he deserves.”
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It comes after a difficult few weeks for the BBC in which it sparked anger after unveiling former Tory minister Michael Gove as the presenter of a new show.
Gove, now editor of The Spectator magazine, has recorded five episodes of a new programme called Surviving Politics in which he interviews big names including former first minister Humza Yousaf.
The corporation has also faced criticism for cutting two journalism programmes.
The long-running interview programme HARDtalk launched in 1997 but an internal email to BBC staff confirmed the show will come to an end in March 2025.
The technology news show Click, which is described by the BBC as its "flagship technology programme" is also being cancelled.
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