BBC Breakfast's Charlie Stayt 'facing bankruptcy' following HMRC petition in huge blow to broadcaster
Charlie Stayt, who presents on the popular morning program BBC Breakfast, is said to be dealing with potential bankruptcy, along with his wife Annie Breckell. This comes after receiving a legal notice from HMRC.
Stayt entered the journalism and broadcasting industry in 1995 when he commenced his job at ITN. Later, he became a part of Five News and provided coverage of the 9/11 terror assaults. In the following years, he progressed in his profession and ultimately ended up working for Sky News.
Stayt and Breckell, who have been on the BBC's flagship morning show for almost two decades, reported a debt of £6,409 when they submitted their company's financial records in December of last year.
According to The Sun newspaper, the pair, married for three decades, reside in a luxurious four-bedroom abode located in Twickenham, which is situated in the South West region of London. However, a government agency threatened them with insolvency very recently.
Stayt Limited has two directors namely, Stayt and Breckell, while Hogbens Dunphy Secretaries, tax consultants, and accountants located in the central part of London are listed as the company's directors.
The company is categorized as operations in television programming and broadcasting.
Charlie has been employed in the Breakfast department since 2006.
A representative from the BBC chose not to provide any remarks, stating that it is a situation of a private nature.
The people in charge of GB News reached out to Stayt's representatives to request a statement.
As per the latest data, Charlie is expected to receive a salary ranging from £190k to £194,999 for his presenting job at BBC by July 2023. Meanwhile, Naga Munchetty, his co-star, earns between £335,000 to £339,999 in a year for her role.
The news about the possible financial struggles of the celebrity emerged following complaints from some BBC Breakfast viewers who believed that sending Stayt to Downing Street to cover Rishi Sunak's latest announcement about the upcoming election was not a wise use of funds.
According to reports, Charlie and Annie are facing financial difficulties as they have accumulated debt and have been presented with a petition by HMRC.
As Munchetty was not present in the studio, Nina Warhurst joined her instead. They talked about the Prime Minister's interview on the show, but the questions became heated.
Frustrated fans of the program expressed their discontent on their X profile, with one stating: "Can someone answer me this - why is Charlie present at No10 this morning?"
"Why bother presenting from outside Downing Street? You could just do it in the studio," one person asked, while another questioned the reason behind Charlie from #bbcbreakfast presenting the show outside Downing Street today."
"Seriously, why go through all the expense of conducting an in-person interview when it could have easily been done online? Seems like a major waste of money," another person expressed their frustration. (note: "sic" is typically used to denote a quoted spelling or grammatical error that is intentionally left unchanged, but there doesn't appear to be any errors to correct in this particular sentence)
The BBC received criticism for sending Stayt to cover news outside of Downing Street.
Ever since Stayt joined the Breakfast team, he's been the subject of plenty of teasing, mostly from his colleague Munchetty. Fans love to see their dynamic in action.
His interviewing technique during his conversation with pop sensation Lady Gaga regarding her endorsement of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 American presidential race against Donald Trump was highly praised.
