Resurfaced clip of Chris Moyles and Charlotte Church prompts calls for investigation

Calls have been made for the BBC to investigate Chris Moyles after a clip resurfaced of the radio DJ admitting to offering to take Charlotte Church’s virginity when she was 15.

The clip has resurfaced in the wake of the BBC’s recent handling of allegations involving presenter Scott Mills, prompting renewed scrutiny from viewers.

In the clip from a 2007 episode of Church’s talk show, The Charlotte Church Show, the singer brought up the exchange, which took place on a live Radio One broadcast in 2002 when Moyles was 27.

Moyles, who presented the drive-time show, was commenting on a Sun newspaper countdown to Church’s 16th birthday before he offered to take Church’s virginity.

On The Charlotte Church Show five years later, Moyles begins to tell the story, saying “Well, once you were young-” before Church interrupts and requests he clarify “How young?”

Moyles continues “You were under 16,” before the then-20-year-old Church says, “I’d call that 15.”

“Yeah, 15.” The radio DJ replies as the crowd laughs. “But then you were gonna be 16, and I offered to take your virginity.”

Asked what “exactly” he had said to Church at the time, Moyles responds with a smile: “I actually think this is actually very sweet. I offered to lead Charlotte through the forest of her own sexuality.”

“A 15-year-old girl,” Charlotte says, looking to the audience and shaking her head.

“No, you were 16,” Moyles interjects and, when Charlotte corrects him, adds jokingly: “Well, you told me you were 16.”

Chris Moyles first began presenting the BBC Radio One show in 1997, and left the position in 2012. He currently presents The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X, which is owned by Global Media & Entertainment Limited.

A BBC spokesperson told the Daily Mail: “‘Chris Moyles hasn’t worked at the BBC for more than 14 years now. However, there are no circumstances in which similar language or behaviour would be tolerated by the BBC today.”

Some social media users have agreed with this sentiment, with one writing: “Moyles’ comments, outrageous as they are, are very much of their time. A time when there was boobs on page 3 and ‘lads mags’ were all the rage. It’s only now people look back in disgust?”

Moyles received condemnation following the 2002 show from the Broadcasting Standards Commission for exceeding “acceptable boundaries for the time of transmission”.

The renewed attention comes in the wake of Scott Mills’ sacking from the broadcaster, reportedly linked to a 2017 police investigation into “serious sexual offences” involving a 16-year-old. The investigation was subsequently closed in 2019 without charge due to lack of evidence.

Scott Mills’ alleged offences took place between 1997 and 2000. He began working for the BBC in 1998.

The BBC has since said it was aware of the Metropolitan Police investigation into Mills in 2017, but did not take action against him until 27 March 2026 when “new information” came to light.

Mills’ departure has prompted some viewers to revisit other past incidents involving BBC presenters.

Despite the initial exchange between Moyles and Church taking place 14 years ago, some have called for an internal investigation “to show how the BBC allowed this to happen without punishment for decades,” as a commenter put it.

“Chris Moyles should have been binned the second she raised that and he confirmed it on national TV,” another added.

Church reflected on Moyles’ behaviour, and her treatment by the tabloids, in Channel 4’s 2023 show Kathy Burke: Growing Up.

She said: “There was just this shift where I sort of became fair game…That ‘lads, lads, lads’ culture was prominent, it was very simplistic, it was unashamed. It was just out there and everybody knew what it was.”

The Charlotte Church Show segment with Moyles is available to watch on YouTube.