BBC continued to commission Chatterbox Media from ‘Meet the Khans’ producer despite a string of bullying complaints: deadline investigation

Exclusive: The BBC continued to run British production company Chatterbox Media despite discovering that its owners, Nav Raman and Ali Quirke, had filed at least a dozen complaints against them, including bullying, in the 12 months before the deadline. ‘court hearing.

Deadline saw correspondence sent by the British television syndicate Bectu to representatives of the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5, detailing “widespread and protracted complaints of mismanagement and harassment” on Chatterbox, which received “ten thousand words of written testimony from members of Bectu who supported this behavior ».

The letter, sent in February this year, called on the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5 to “investigate the matter thoroughly and suspend existing commissions pending an investigation.”

Since then, the BBC, which has put the fight against bullying at the heart of its latest code of conduct for broadcasters, has given Chatterbox the green light for three BBC reality shows. Charlotte in Sunderland under the guidance of Georgian coast The star Charlotte Crosby. Two former Chatterbox employees contacted Deadline after reading this committee’s reports on Chatterbox’s conduct.

After receiving the same letter from Bectu, Paramount-owned Channel 5 stopped working with Chatterbox. Chatterbox was never commissioned by Channel 4, although the production company received a grant of £ 20,000 ($ 24,000) from the public broadcaster’s Emerging Indie Fund in December 2020.

Along with Crosby, BAFTA-winning Chatterbox has produced shows hosted by British boxer Amir Khan and singer Tiny Tempah. The company was founded by former Channel 4 commissioner Raman and Raw TV, Sugar Films and Barcroft Media alumnus Quirk in 2018.

In a statement to Deadline, the BBC did not directly address its reasons for continuing to work with Chatterbox, but said the company “will not tolerate any form of intimidation or harassment” and added that all producers hired by the BBC should be treated with respect. at work. policy and “meet our advanced requirements to provide a safe working environment”.

“When complaints about BBC commissions are received, they are taken seriously and appropriate measures are taken,” the statement adds.

Deadline understands that Chatterbox has a respectful workplace policy. Charlotte in Sunderland which was filmed in north east England. There have been no complaints since February 2022.

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The February 2022 letter described “ritual humiliation, denial of denunciation, contempt for staff well-being and a deeply ingrained toxic work environment” in Chatterbox from late 2020 to early 2022.

It lists “the daily public humiliation of staff, targeting people who need reasonable accommodation and flexible work, regular downsizing, regular layoffs, and demands for work at all hours of the day and night.”

“Worldwide [complainants] This is unanimously confirmed by Chatterbox founders Nav Raman and Ali Quirke, “the letter reads, although Deadline understands that the specific harassment complaints were directed at Raman, not Quirke.

Furthermore, the complainants, who were all women, “strongly suspect that this behavior is being used to underwrite production budgets at the expense of well-being, health and safety,” the letter reads.

The letter also reveals that Bectu warned Chatterbox in late 2020 after an initial series of six complaints from its members, but the behavior continued, with another series of six complaints about a year later, at which point Bectu has decided it was his only one. option. Contact broadcasters.

Deadline understands that the first six were shot during the filming of BBC Three’s debut season. Meet the Khans, popular midwife after British champion boxer and wife Faryal Makhdom. There is no indication that Khan or Makhdoom were aware of the allegations.

Bektu later wrote to Raman and Quirk with accusations demanding that they change their practices, but the union received “another stream of complaints” a year later, according to a February 2022 letter, during the filming of the second season. Meet the Khans and the fifth channel Sally Lindsay’s fashion dream.

the second season Meet the Khans The appointment comes just weeks after BBC content director Charlotte Moore wrote to hundreds of providers with updated guidelines against on-set bullying and sexual harassment.

When they were charged, Raman and Quirk claimed that in recent months they had “Commissioned a 360-degree independent review of the entire company to help establish best working practices, implemented “numerous recommendations” and “Work closely with Bectu and our clients, including the BBC. “This morning, the company appointed European Vice President of Manufacturing, Rosie Taylor, as Head of Manufacturing.

“We take claims very seriously and are passionate about continuing to develop a production company that is truly inclusive and has all aspects of diversity at its core, both in terms of the team and the ideas we bring to the screen,” they added. “We appreciate the relationship we have with the BBC, as do our other broadcast partners, and will continue to work transparently with them as we grow.”

In a February 2022 letter, Bectu boss Philippa Childs acknowledged that Chatterbox had “pledged to put in place adequate policies, procedures and staffing to address personnel concerns and improve workplace culture for a long time. term”.

“I’ve never worked in such a toxic place”

Deadline spoke to half a dozen people who worked in Chatterbox between late 2020 and early 2022, who supported the claims made in Bectu’s letter and some of whom were disappointed with the BBC’s decision to continue work with Indy.

These individuals describe screaming and screaming, which were expected to work or be available virtually 24/7, many people left in tears, and an atmosphere of constant chaos that forced staff and freelancers to leave. Chatterbox productions in the middle of filming. The deadline saw two resignation letters.

In one case, the source said, they were asked to consult and had to take a break from the industry after working for Chatterbox.

“I let my abilities be completely questioned,” he said. “This terrible time has left me without trust and I know I’m not the only person who has left me this way.”

Another former employee who worked Meet the KhansHe said: “I’ve never worked in such a toxic place. They gathered people for Zoom calls every morning and lay on them, calling them “spoiled assholes” and all. Expectations and contempt for our feelings were horrible. “

Sources spoke of a “horrendous daily meeting at 9 am” in which they were hunted and called in in front of others. Deadline understands that former Chatterbox employees are part of a WhatsApp group called the “Chatterbox Survivors Club” where they regularly talk about their time there.

Another former employee, who resigned from Chatterbox a year and a half ago and is one of Bectu’s informants, said he “warned [Raman and Quirk] Many times they got a bad rap for the way they treated people, but they just kept going. “

A fourth source described the feeling of being “forced to leave” after the contract stipulated when they started production that they could only work two days a week, just “connected at all hours of the day” and housed. A pressure they had never experienced before.

“It was the scariest place I’ve ever worked in,” they added. “I’ve had tough jobs and TV can be tough, but seeing people cry every morning and yelling on the phone was just too much.”

A person not employed by Chatterbox but hired through a post-production service company also resolved the complaints.

“In China it was bullying and it was so obvious that it shocked me,” said the person, who told Deadline that one of his younger employees was crying.

The sources, known to Deadline but who preferred to remain anonymous for this article, also expressed disappointment at the BBC’s decision to keep Chatterbox running.

What I don’t like is the answer [from the BBC]said a source who worked Meet the Khans. “Chatterbox now says they are moving, that they are small, etc., but there is nothing to protect the new freelancers who work there. He feels safe there. “

A sixth source who worked on both Meet the Khans The second season e Sally Lindsay’s elegant sleepover, He added: “We are losing young people at the bottom of the industry if we have companies like this and the BBC has to take responsibility.”

Bectu’s Childs said “broadcasters have a vital role to play in ensuring these processes and standards are followed.”

“For the industry to meaningfully address bullying and harassment, everyone – staff, employers and broadcasters – must work together to create a workplace where people feel safe to talk, raise concerns and engage. for tangible change … has been added.

Deadline’s investigation focuses on harassment in the British television industry, a year after allegations of 20 women surfaced. childhood Creator Noel Clarke, whom he denies, has been charged with intimidation by 10 people against CEO Ross McCarthy. Just one of our tattoos Produced by Gobstopper Television. McCarthy vehemently denied most of the allegations, but apologized for the “unintentional damage”.

Bectu and The Film & TV Charity are campaigning to address longstanding harassment issues in the high-pressure industry, and the union held a series of anonymous screenings a few months ago as part of its Unseen on Screen campaign.

Those testimonies included a “nominative executive” who was sued for “verbal and psychological harassment” and a person who started having “panic attacks on his way to work” due to the behavior of another executive.