BBC chief admits licence fee is 'doomed' after broadcaster dealt £1billion hammerblow

Through a lethal combination of licence fee evasion and cancellation last year, the BBC has bled the startling sum after it admitted it "has become harder to get people to answer their doors", despite making two million enforcement visits.

Giving a particularly candid verdict, Mr Bolton told the People's Channel: "This is bad news for the BBC. Very bad news. And it shows that the licence fee is doomed."

During his 20-year-long tenure at the BBC, Mr Bolton gained experience working as an editor on multiple shows, including the broadcaster's infamous documentary series Panorama in 1979.

He later became the Head of Network Production for the BBC in Manchester before spending 23 years presenting on BBC Radio 4.

Part of the broadcaster's current problem, however, is where the BBC will find income from other sources if the charge is to be phased out, Mr Bolton argued.

He said the Government must make a decision on how to fund the broadcaster, which has been hit with a slew of bias accusations.

He said: "In the light of those figures, it gets ever more urgent. I mean, it is a nonsense system, isn't it?"

Originally, Mr Bolton argued the fee was more logical when television was received through an aerial on your roof.

He said: "Whereas today, how many people get a get television through an aerial on their box or on their roof. Virtually no one in the country does that!"

Mr Bolton warned opting to introduce advertising to the broadcasting service would have a "destructive impact" on the industry.

"You can't have a government direct Government grant because that gives Government more power," he said.

And finally, Mr Bolton argued handing the broadcaster over to a streaming service would cause about five million in the UK to switch off.

"So we have this digital problem here before we can go full scale and so finding a way to fund this which achieves whatever national objectives we want and is fair and progressive, it's extraordinarily difficult."

BBC data revealed the number of TV licences plummeted by approximately 300,000 between March 2024 and March 2025.

Now, around 3.6 million claim to not have a licence for reasons of not needing one, costing the BBC an eye-watering £617million.

The way in which the BBC is funded has fallen under fire after the broadcaster was accused of misleading viewers with content, including a Panorama episode which spliced two section of a Donald Trump speech together.

Speaking to GB News in a world exclusive sit-down interview in the White House, Mr Trump told Bev Turner he has an "obligation" to sue BBC, warning: "This is beyond fake. This is corrupt!"

The "doctored" video, which made it appear as if Mr Trump was encouraging his followers to take part in the Capitol riots, grabbed international attention, with the President vowing to catapult the broadcaster into court over the matter.

Both BBC director-general Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness resigned amid the blazing scandal following a report which provided an itemised list of "misleading" content from BBC output.

Reform UK boss Nigel Farage declared the licence fee would be given the boot if his party were launched into Government at the next election.

A BBC spokesman said: "TV Licensing works hard to collect the licence fee and enforce the law efficiently, fairly and proportionately and we are audited on this each year.

"The National Audit Office reports that we continue to successfully deliver on these measures."

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