BBC scandal: Teenager, 17, claims presenter sent 'creepy' messages on Instagram

“Looking back now it does seem creepy because he was messaging me when I was still at school," they told The Sun.

“In light of everything now, I feel shocked because as a broadcaster it is a name everyone would trust. I had no reason to think it was anything beyond that at that time.”

The star appeared to message the youngster with a love heart emoji without any prior contact between them.

They said: “I was surprised he had messaged me out of the blue but was excited as I knew who he was. He sent a love heart emoji to me and I was taken aback.

“Looking back now at my reply I can tell I did not think anything of it because of my age. I was just thinking of it ­innocently because I had a keen interest in their line of work.

“I replied to the love-heart emoji he sent and asked how it was going at the BBC. He replied saying it was good and he used a kiss [x] at the end of his message.

“I did think it was a little strange that he used a kiss at the end but, ultimately, I was not reading into these messages in that way and so did not think more about it at the time.”

The young person, who is now 22-years-old, added: “After my reply, he then asked me if I was OK. After he sent it he sent me another love heart emoji.

"I asked why he was asking after me and he said he was just being polite and put another kiss at the end.

“In light of what I know now, it feels as though when he realised I was not flirtatious back, he changed in the way he would reply.”

It comes as the unnamed star has also been accused of breaking lockdown rules to meet a young person from a dating site.

Yesterday another young person claimed they too had been contacted by the star with “abusive” messages after they started speaking on a dating app.

When told about the fresh claims by The Sun, they said: “I feel saddened that individuals of a similar age to myself have experienced something like this and I just hope they know they can be heard.”