By Samantha Jones-
DJ Tim Westwood is facing allegations from a woman who says they had sex several times starting when she was 14, and another 10 women who have claimed they are victims of sexual misconduct by DJ Tim Westwood.
The youngest of his accusers, now 64, was in his 30s at the time of the alleged incidents, and is one of several to come forward after an investigation by BBC News and the Guardian into claims of misconduct and abuse dating from 1990 to 2020.
That investigation alleged Westwood abused his position in the music industry to take advantage of seven women in their late teens or early 20s.
The outlets claimed that, aside from two friends, the women who have now come forward are not known to each other and have never met. The sheer number of allegations against the DJ has already staine dhis reputation.
None of the 10 reported the incidents to the police and all but one have asked to remain anonymous.
The BBC, where Westwood worked as a notable presenter for 20 years, later revealed it had received six complaints against him, including one referred to police.
Its director-general, Tim Davie, said earlier this week the corporation is undertaking a “full deep dive” and plans to deliver a report on the complaints within the next two weeks.
Westwood has previously strongly denied other allegations of sexual misconduct, with his reps saying in a past statement: ‘Tim Westwood strongly denies all allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
‘In a career that has spanned 40 years, there have never been any complaints made against him officially or unofficially. Tim Westwood strongly rejects all allegations of wrongdoing.
One of his accusers has describes=d him as a “predator”.
The woman is one of several to come forward after an investigation by BBC News and the Guardian, with claims of misconduct and abuse dating from 1990 to 2020.
Allegations
The allegations against Westwood began in April, after a number of women accused the former Radio 1 DJ of predatory and unwanted sexual behaviour and touching, in incidents between 1992 and 2017. They also accused him of abusing his position in the music industry.
One of the women was only 14 when she first had sex with Mr Westwood. Another says she was 16 when the DJ, who was in his 40s at the time, began what she says was a “controlling” relationship with her. Both women say their relationships affected their mental health.
Two other women say they were in their mid-teens when they were sexually assaulted by Mr Westwood.
The testimonies of these and other women feature in a new BBC News documentary, Hip Hop’s Open Secret: Tim Westwood, which is available on the BBC iPlayer now and airs on BBC Three at 22:00.
It raises new concerns about the 64-year-old’s behaviour over three decades.
One woman, who was 20 when she met the DJ at a student club night, says he sexually assaulted her in his hotel room by pushing his penis into her mouth while she was resisting.
The original investigation by BBC News and the Guardian was a bombshell when it first came out, and led to Westwood stepping down from his weekly Saturday night radio show on Capital Xtra “until further notice”, according to a statement from parent company Global at the time.
Up until then, Westwood had been popular figure in social media, featuring on the snap chat of many good looking females in the Uk and oversees.
Apart from two of the complainants who are friends, none of the women spoken to by the investigation know each other or have met. They are all black females.
Of all those who have spoken to the BBC and the Guardian, Esther was the youngest at the time that she says the DJ had sex with her. She says she was 14 and the experience later led to her attempting to take her own life.
She first met him at his club nights at the Arch in Vauxhall in 1990. She and her friends were big fans of the DJ’s hip-hop show on Capital radio, and they would often call the programme for a shout-out.
They became regulars at his club night. “[Tim Westwood] would always see us. He’d let us in for free,” says Esther. “Sometimes he’d come and check on us: ‘Ah are you guys enjoying yourselves?’ And that’s how it started.”
She says the DJ knew how young she was because he had asked her her age.”He didn’t look shocked or anything,” she says. When she asked him if she could continue coming, he said, “Sure you can.”
“I think we exchanged numbers and he just started, ‘Oh are you coming tonight, you know, so I can leave your name at the door.’ And then I’d say it was a couple of months after that he asked to meet up with me at Hammersmith Station.”
She says the DJ met her in west London and drove her to a flat. He offered her a drink but she said she just wanted a juice. They sat and talked – and then he kissed her.
“I was like, OK, I don’t have a problem with that. And then, it progressed from there. We had sex.”
This would not be the only time. The DJ, she says, would call her at home – after 18:00 because he knew her mum worked nights – and they would arrange to meet.
“I never gave consent [to sex], but I never said no either so, I just went along with it,” she says.
The son of an Anglican Bishop, Tim Westwood’s first radio show was on the London pirate radio station LWR. He then moved to Kiss FM, which he co-owned, and was on Capital FM from 1987, and in 1994 he moved to BBC Radio 1 to present its new rap show.
He launched his show with a live concert with the Notorious B.I.G. and Puff Daddy. The Westwood Radio 1 Rap Show was the top ranked hip hop show in the UK.
After appearing in the 1987 BBC Open Space documentary “Bad Meaning Good”, which was an early work of his own company Justice Entertainment, he achieved TV exposure in the late 1980s, on the ITV-scheduled Night Network, produced by London Weekend Television.
He later presented a series of his own television programmes on UKTV channel UK Play, which has since ceased broadcasting. His Radio 1 show was produced by his independent company Justice Entertainment, which also produced Chris Goldfinger’s dancehall show for Radio 1 at the time.
His business accomplishments were undeniable, increasing his confidence by many folds, as his fame in the music industry spread over the years.
Westwood was injured in a drive-by shooting in Kennington, South London, on 18 July 1999, after he had been playing at the Lambeth Country Show in Brockwell Park.