Warring BBC Radio 5 Live hosts Tony Livesey and Clare McDonnell had an awkward exchange live on air, giving an insight into the simmering tension between the pair long before they fell out.
Drivetime presenter O’Donnell, 57, has refused to work with 60-year-old Livesey after he mistakenly sent the email to her criticising her presenting skills which was intended for another colleague, according to gossip site Popbitch.
The last time the pair co-hosted the popular show was May 7, and the row has left the station in ‘chaos’ with BBC bosses reportedly spending extra money hastily drawing up new rotas so that neither works on the same day.
Despite the rift, side-by-side photos of Livesey and McDonnell still appear on the Drivetime signature page on the BBC website, but in the summaries of each programme below, there is every possible combination of presenters listed… except Livesey and McDonnell together.
And a clip of awkward banter unearthed by MailOnline from June 2023 suggests that even then the duo weren’t always the best of mates in the studio.
The awkward exchange started when Tony Livesey said: ‘They are uber professional, it’s a privilege to sit alongside them’
Clare McDonnell retorted: ‘It’ll be good to work alongside professionals, for a change, I’m looking forward to it’
It was just before Wimbledon, and breaking with previous years, McDonnell rather than Livesey would be heading for the All England Club to co-present from there.
Livesey took the opportunity to praise the skills of 5 Live’s tennis broadcasters, saying ‘What’s mega is you’re talking to people like Gigi Salmon, Russell Fuller and David Law and you’re asking them about the fur on the balls and all that kind of thing, then suddenly they go into commentary mode.
‘They are uber professional, it’s a privilege to sit alongside them.’
McDonnell shot back: ‘It’ll be good to work alongside professionals, for a change, I’m looking forward to it,’ and laughed.
Also chuckling, Livesey replied: ‘Everyone’s having a go now — what’s happening?’
McDonnell responded: ‘Oh that was an open goal.’
Livesey, looking a little less amused, ended saying: ‘I’m going to say the time dramatically and hope everyone’s forgotten what’s just been said…’
Earlier this month, the BBC announced that Livesey, one-time editor of Sunday Sport, will be shunted back to the late-night show on the station.
A source told The Sun: ‘She [Clare] no longer wants to work with him and that has caused total chaos at the station.
‘People are being shifted all over the shop and into different slots, which isn’t going down well.
‘Clare is well within her rights to be angry – but it’s made the atmosphere at 5 Live really frosty.’
It comes as for weeks, McDonnell and Livesey have alternated as presenters of the drivetime show.
Clare was said to ‘livid’ after receiving the email ‘slagging off’ her presenting skills, a source told the Sun
Tony has now lost his drivetime show and will return to the 10pm slot, where he began his career
This week, for instance, McDonnell hosted on Monday and Tuesday alongside Johnny I’Anso, whereas Tony took the reins on Wednesday and Thursday with Leila Nathoo.
Livesey, former editor-in-chief of the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport newspapers, and author of Babes, Booze, Orgies and Aliens: The Inside Story of Sport Newspapers, joined the BBC in 2006. He began on the late-night show on Radio 5 live in 2010.
In December, he returns to where he started his 5 Live career on weeknights 10pm till 1am.
The BBC and the presenters were contacted for comment.
The BBC has been rocked by a series of scandals in recent months and confirmed in October that it had launched a probe into its workplace culture.
The review was prompted by the Huw Edwards scandal which saw the well-known news presenter charged with three counts of making indecent images of children.
It also comes after a bullying probe that led to the BBC apologising to Strictly Come Dancing star Amanda Abbington after she reported her dance partner Giovanni Pernice.
The BBC review will be led by Grahame Russell, the executive chairman and founder of Change Associates, and the report is expected to be published next spring.
It will have a particular focus on ‘preventing abuse of power and ensuring everyone at the BBC conducts themselves in line’ with BBC values, the corporation said.
Announcing the start of the review in an email to staff, BBC chairman Samir Shah said: ‘I cannot emphasise enough that I am fully committed to tackling inappropriate or abusive behaviour.
‘For most of us it is a joy to work for the BBC and that should be the case for everyone. Nobody working in the BBC should ever feel fear or worry while working here.
The BBC has been rocked by a series of scandals in recent months and confirmed in October that it had launched a probe into its workplace culture. Pictured: Chairman Samir Shah
‘What is clear to me is that we must ensure the BBC is a safe, secure and welcoming workplace for everyone.’
Change Associates previously led the work on the BBC’s 2013 ‘respect at work’ review.
The latest review will assess the progress made on those recommendations and will look at work done in other reviews.
It will focus on a number of aspects including how the BBC can ‘ensure the consequences of inappropriate behaviour and abuse of power are understood by everyone and that significant issues are dealt with as soon as they are identified and in a consistent manner’.
If there is more the corporation could do to ‘ensure people feel confident to speak up and for managers and leaders to act decisively’ is also among the focus points.
The final report will make recommendations on practical steps the corporation can take to ‘further strengthen workplace culture’, the BBC has said.