Top 10 Biggest TV Scandals of the Decade So Far

#10: Heaters in the Castle

In 2020, production of “I’m a Celeb” moved from the Australian jungle to a ruined castle in Wales – but there’s a big difference in temperature between Australia in its spring months and Wales in autumn. However, eagle-eyed viewers thought that the celebs looked suspiciously warm, lounging around without jackets or jumpers, with Vernon Kay even ditching his shoes at one point. Kay later admitted that there WERE heaters, but then claimed that they were “rarely used”. AJ Pritchard, meanwhile, said that the production had “heat lamps” above the cameras so that the audience couldn’t see them. We knew they looked far too toasty to be in a castle in Wales in November without any heaters knocking about.

#9: Mexican Week

For years, people have wanted an end to “Bake Off’s” nationally-themed weeks. There was Japan week, featuring absolutely no recipes from Japan, which has plenty of unique pastries and bakes of its own; there was German week, which equally didn’t have any authentic German dishes, despite having a German contestant; and finally, Mexican week. Mexican week was the final straw, with mispronunciations running rampant. People were most confused by the challenge to make tacos, though, because they don’t require any baking at all and are very easy to make; hardly worthy of a technical. After that, “Bake Off” finally announced that the themed weeks would be ending. Apparently, that’s easier than just doing research and bringing in some real dishes.

#8: Gary Lineker vs The BBC

People were sick to death of this while it was ongoing, though Lineker did ultimately leave “Match of the Day” and the BBC in May 2025. This came after years of Lineker publicly criticising Tory policy, and then posting about the genocide in Gaza. After the BBC first suspended him for violating impartiality rules, an impromptu strike broke out among the broadcaster’s sports commentators, which led to “Match of the Day” going out with no punditry. He was reinstated and the guidelines were revised to make it clear that the BBC’s top-paid stars aren’t allowed to post their political opinions online, even if it’s on their personal account.

#7: The Schofield Scandal

More than other recently-cancelled stars like Gregg Wallace and Gino D’Acampo, Phillip Schofield’s fall from grace has been a watershed moment from ITV. At least Wallace and D’Acampo already had reputations for toeing the line between banter and being inappropriate; Schofield, meanwhile, had had dodgy rumours circulating for years. Those rumours turned out to be true, both that he was gay and had been hiding an inappropriate affair with a young employee. He later claimed that had he had an affair with a twenty-year-old woman he’d first met as a teenager, it wouldn’t have been a scandal at all. Clearly, the demise of Gregg Wallace after years of allegedly flashing women backstage, proves otherwise.

#6: The Holly Willoughby Kidnapping Plot

Just when you thought things were getting back to normal for “This Morning”, in 2023, Holly Willoughby was caught up in a bizarre attempt to kidnap and murder her. The man responsible, Gavin Plumb, was arrested following a tip-off from an undercover police officer in the US, who was also the person Plumb was attempting to hire to kidnap Willoughby on his behalf. Immediately, Willoughby left “This Morning” and all of her other TV commitments, understandably so. Lately she’s taken a small number of presenting roles, with Plumb found guilty and sentenced to at least sixteen years in prison. It wasn’t even the first time he’d plotted to kidnap someone; he’d already done time for similar offences.

#5: The Strictly Scandal

It’s not just been ITV in hot water recently. In 2024, stories began to break alleging that the over-competitive professional dancers on “Strictly” had been behaving inappropriately with their celebrity partners. Chief among them was Giovanni Pernice and Graziano di Prima; Pernice resigned, while di Prima was sacked, eventually admitting that he really HAD been kicking people behind closed doors. The BBC has seemingly not released the footage of the training sessions to those complaining about misconduct, but HAS apologised and introduced chaperones to ensure that celebrities are always safe during rehearsals. In 2025, new scandals, including allegations of substance misuse, have continued to plague the show.

#4: Baby Reindeer

In 2024, “Baby Reindeer” on Netflix took the world by storm. An allegedly “true story” of comedian Richard Gadd’s experiences with a stalker known only as “Martha”, people were shocked and horrified at what he went through. But unfortunately, Gadd hadn’t disguised her identity well enough; internet sleuths were able to search for the online posts reproduced in the show and found a woman named Fiona Harvey was the one responsible. She did a media round, which she’s since called out for being exploitative, and is now suing Netflix for defamation for asserting that she was convicted of stalking Gadd, which she never was. It looks like she has a strong case, all thanks to the “this is a true story” disclaimer at the beginning.

#3: Top Gear Gets Cancelled

The “Top Gear” reboot was never JUST a motoring show, interspersing its factual content and car reviews with bombastic challenges. These challenges, however, led to multiple serious accidents over the years. For a while, the most notable was Richard Hammond’s crash in 2006 that left him in a coma. Decades on, though, and cricketer Freddie Flintoff was involved in two accidents, one of them so serious it’s left him with permanent facial scars. Immediately, “Top Gear” was put on hiatus and later cancelled officially, with the BBC paying millions of pounds in lost income to Flintoff. He’s since discussed the accident in documentaries, saying that he was dragged face-first along the tarmac when his open-topped car rolled over.

#2: Huw Edwards

Undoubtedly, this is the most shameful moment for the BBC since the full truth about Jimmy Savile became known in 2012. Top-paid newsreader Huw Edwards was, in 2024, finally charged with making indecent images, pleading guilty. This was after multiple previous investigations, some of which found no wrongdoing, and a LOT of attention from the tabloid press, with “The Sun” paying for exclusives with some parties involved. He’s been put on the register and given a suspended sentence, also ordered to pay out to his victims and placed in a treatment programme. The BBC has hastily edited Edwards out of its catalogue, including clipping him from an old episode of “Doctor Who”.

#1: Russell Brand’s Reckoning

He built his entire public persona on being naughty in the noughties, behaving inappropriately on shows like “Big Brother’s Big Mouth” and “Brand X”. In 2023, allegations were made by investigative journalists that many of Brand’s sexual encounters hadn’t been consensual. He denied this and has since pleaded not guilty in court, after ultimately being charged with numerous serious offences by the Metropolitan Police. Fellow comedian Daniel Sloss is one of the only figures who went on the record, saying that Brand’s behaviour was an open secret throughout entertainment. Brand’s now a born-again Christian in America claiming that the “mainstream media” is trying to destroy him while selling pseudoscientific amulets.

Let us know in the comments which controversies we forgot.