BBC host Evan Davis was told that he could no longer hold a podcast about heat pumps because of concerns about the company discussing “stampage in the area of public dispute.”
The host of BBC Radio 4’s PM program hosted a 20-episode Happy Heat Pump podcast, which was launched in 2024. It covers the issues of installation technology, cost, noise levels and alternatives to alternative gasoline boilers.
However, despite initial approval to continue the non-BBC project, the boss told Davis that the podcast risked exposing him to political bias.
He told the podcast’s YouTube channel followers: “As the series evolved – in fact, as the past few months have evolved, they have been worried that trying to inform people about the heat pump can be correctly or wrongly explained because somehow trampled on the field of public controversy.”
“I took shillings and decided on the rules. They had to try to put the hosts out of public controversy, and they thought the heat pump could cause controversy, so they asked me not to get involved.”
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It is believed that the widespread installation of heat pumps is a necessary condition for the zero carbon emission target to be reached by 2050. Last month, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch gave up party support for his goal. Davis said he believes the decision to stop him from appearing on the podcast due to the connection between the heat pump and the net zero target.
Bean Beanland, director of the Heat Pump Federation and Davis’s co-host on the podcast, called the decision “very extraordinary.” Douglas Parr, policy director for Greenpeace, said: “As an impartial broadcaster, the BBC should not try to transform the world’s most effective home heating system into a cultural war problem from rights.
Davis said he was “absolutely unpaid” for the podcast and personally paid a small fee for its music, communications and microphone equipment. He said there was no connection to HPF except for the fact that he hired his co-host.
However, he defended the broadcaster. He said: “While it’s very susceptible to the attitude of the BBC and its caution about something like this – of course, I do disagree with it in this case, but I never really had to run the BBC and make a hundred decisions a day, and people from all sides kept shouting me.”
“If I don’t like the limitations of working here, I’m obviously free to leave, but I chose not to do that because it’s a great agency, the PM program is in good condition and they pay me a great salary.”
The BBC has been criticized for its handling of environmental issues. The broadcaster said in 2018 that it would stop the “two-sided” climate crisis and acknowledged that it had obtained some “mistakes” of reporting by debating with people who rejected climate science.
But recently, broadcasters have provided a platform for some people calling for action to reduce climate breakdowns. The producers also accused the BBC of shelving Sir David Attenborough’s 2023 political plan, which links the loss of biodiversity in the UK to the climate crisis. Insiders say this is because people are worried that its theme of destruction of nature will risk strong opposition from Conservative politicians and right-wing media.
BBC Guide state employees should not undermine the fairness of the company in their external work. Sources said that while the BBC clearly shows that climate change is happening, the response to it is a public policy issue. They added that Davis’ podcast only explores and promotes one possible solution.
The BBC has previously been under pressure on its host’s external projects. Last year, broadcaster Clive Myrie apologized for failing to earn at least £145,000 from external activities and said he would stop doing so in the “foreseeable future”.
