Former BBC DJ appears in court on sex charges

Former BBC DJ appears in court on sex charges

Tim Westwood stands accused of rape and sexual assault involving nine women over several decades
Former BBC Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood has appeared in a London court on two additional sex offense charges, British media reported on Friday.The 69-year-old faces a total of 17 charges involving nine women, including allegations of rape and sexual assault. The alleged offenses span more than three decades, from 1983 to 2016.
The two additional charges were announced by London’s Metropolitan Police in September. They concern the alleged indecent assault of a girl aged 16 or 17 in west London in 1991 and the alleged sexual assault of an 18-year-old woman in south London in 2004.
During Friday’s hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Westwood indicated that he would plead not guilty to both charges, according to court officials cited by British media. He has already pleaded not guilty to the original 15 charges, including four counts of rape.
Among the earlier allegations is the rape of a woman in a hotel in 1996. Westwood is also accused of several indecent assaults on BBC premises during the 1990s, as well as sexual offenses at other locations in London and elsewhere in England.

Westwood was released on conditional bail and is due to appear at Southwark Crown Court on November 12. His trial on the original charges is scheduled to begin on January 25, 2027.
Westwood was one of Britain’s best-known hip-hop DJs, working for BBC Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra between 1994 and 2013.
In February 2025, the BBC apologized after an independent investigation found evidence of bullying and misogynistic behavior by Westwood. The broadcaster admitted it had been too deferential to high-profile individuals and missed opportunities to address complaints about his conduct.
Read more The case comes against the backdrop of a number of sexual abuse scandals involving prominent BBC personalities. Jimmy Savile, a former television and radio presenter, was accused of abusing hundreds of people, many of them children, over several decades. The allegations emerged publicly after his death in 2011, prompting investigations into how the broadcaster had handled complaints.Other former BBC entertainers, including Stuart Hall and Rolf Harris, were convicted of sexual offenses involving underage girls and served prison sentences. In 2024, former BBC News presenter Huw Edwards received a six-month suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to offenses involving indecent images of children.The broadcaster faced further scrutiny in March 2026 when it dismissed prominent radio presenter Scott Mills following allegations about his conduct. The BBC later acknowledged that it had known about a previous police investigation into alleged sexual offenses involving a teenage boy. The investigation was closed in 2019 without charges after prosecutors found insufficient evidence to proceed.