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The BBC has pulled a documentary series with its controversial presenter Ashley Cain after revelations over his history of abusive and misogynistic comments about women.
In a statement late on Thursday, the BBC said its vetting requirements had “clearly failed” in the case of Cain, who was lauded by executives at the corporation for his ability to connect with young men. It added the BBC had “no plans” to broadcast a new series of Ashley Cain: Into the Danger Zone, a BBC programme that was filmed earlier this year at various locations across the world.
A former footballer turned reality TV star, Cain’s BBC series features him travelling to the world’s most dangerous places, interviewing young men who live on the fringes of society.
The announcement came after the Guardian revealed Cain had a history of making abusive and misogynistic remarks about women, who he has variously called “slags”, “sluts”, “psychos” and “bitches”. The comments on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, were publicly available until this week, when his account was taken down.
“The posts by Ashley Cain, albeit from many years ago, are completely unacceptable,” the BBC said. “The BBC has clear requirements around vetting and social media checks, which are undertaken by the production company. In this instance, the process clearly failed and we are investigating why. We are continuing to strengthen our processes to ensure everyone working for, and on behalf of, the BBC meets our values and standards.” The spokesperson added that they had “no future projects with Ashley Cain”.
Cain had made jokes about slapping, spitting at and “choke slam[ming]” women, and made light of sexual practices which blur the boundaries of consent, including ejaculating inside women without consent. He had also been the subject of a 2015 allegation, first reported in the Daily Star and easily discoverable online, that he recorded a woman, Rachel Roftis, during sex, and uploaded the footage to Snapchat, without her consent.
This week, the Guardian also reported that the BBC chose to make a second series of Ashley Cain: Into the Danger Zone, despite being previously informed about an incident of alleged misconduct on a separate BBC shoot. Cain was to present the BBC production, Sin City: The Real Las Vegas, which was filmed in Las Vegas in June 2025. But after concerns were raised that Cain appeared to be drunk during filming, production was suspended, and another presenter flew out to replace him at short notice. Despite being told of this allegation, the BBC proceeded with season 2 of Into the Danger Zone, which was filmed in early 2026.
Before being axed, BBC executives had been developing Cain, who has 2.1 million Instagram followers, as an on-screen talent who could bring in younger male audiences. In 2025, the BBC commissioning editor Nasfim Haque described him at an event for the Royal Television Society as “what BBC Three is about”.
The news will put renewed focus on the BBC’s vetting policies in the wake of multiple high-profile scandals involving BBC talent, such as Huw Edwards and Gregg Wallace. It also comes during a troubled period for the broadcaster: earlier this week, the new BBC director general, Matt Brittin, announced a major round of job cuts as part of a £500m cost-saving exercise.
Cain did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
