EXCLUSIVE: BBC staffers often hold their noses at cost-cutting plans, but the latest effort to save money is proving too pongy for some.
Deadline hears that the number of contract cleaners at the BBC’s London headquarters will be slashed by 70% from 31 to nine, according to unhappy insiders. The changes were made after the BBC awarded a new facilities management contract.
Employees have kicked up a stink about the change in an internal letter amid anxiety that it will worsen what some see as already questionable hygiene standards at Broadcasting House.
There are also concerns that the cleaner cull could create genuine health and safety issues for the thousands of staff who work at the building.
One insider told Deadline: “Lots of people are not very happy about it. The place is disgusting as it is — dirty desks, dirty shared areas, toilets are often disgusting, mice running around — and now they want to cut back on cleaning.”
Another person added that the reduction in cleaning contractors was “asking for trouble.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “The changes being made are a matter for our facilities management provider. We’re satisfied our contractor can deliver our required standards and we’ll be working with them as they transition to this new way of working. In addition, we will respond to staff who have signed the letter.”
Stories about vermin infestations at Broadcasting House, which cost £1B ($1.3B) to build, have long been a source of fascination for British newspapers.
When the site opened in 2013, The Evening Standard reported that workers were told not to leave food on desks and to keep work areas tidy amid mice sightings.
As recently as 2024, The Sun claimed that The One Show‘s space at Broadcasting House was crawling with cockroaches.
There’s even a social media account, called Andy’s Technology Mice, which posts internal gossip under the guise of “the mice that run the Big British Castle.”