Tony Wadsworth and Julie Wadsworth (née Julie Mayer) are former English radio presenters who most recently worked for

BBC Radio Leicester BBC Radio Leicester is the BBC's local radio station serving the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at St Nicholas Place in Leicester. According to RAJAR, the station ...

. In 2017, they were both jailed for historic child sexual abuse.

Marriage and radio careers

Tony Wadsworth was born in Leicester, and worked for a time in his family's business, before getting into broadcasting, presenting 'Weekdays with Waddo' on Radio Leicester. He met Julie Mayer while she was working as a seamstress and hired her to make a costume for a charity event. They were married in 1994. He moved to the BBC WM studios at

Pebble Mill Pebble Mill Studios was the BBC's television studio complex located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, which served as the headquarters for BBC Birmingham from 1971 until 2004. The nine-acre site was opened by Princess Anne o ...

in Birmingham. Tony presented all the mainstream programmes including Breakfast and Drive. Alongside Julie, he also presented the regional Late Show. In 2005, they returned to his hometown and began broadcasting on

. The Wadsworths presented there until their arrests in 2015. Tony Wadsworth won several awards, including: a

Sony award The Radio Academy Awards, started in 1983, were the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. For most of their existence, they were run by ZAFER Associates, but in latter years were brought under the control of The Radio Academy ...

for the Best Local Radio Programme, a Gillard gold award for the Best Daytime Programme, a Gillard silver award for the reality radio soap series: The Street, and a Gillard bronze award for The Street Party. He was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters in 2012 by

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was tak ...

Leicester in recognition of his services to broadcasting and to the Leicestershire community. Julie once posed for a BBC-sanctioned

Calendar Girls ''Calendar Girls'' is a 2003 British comedy film directed by Nigel Cole. Produced by Touchstone Pictures, it features a screenplay by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi, based on a true story of a group of middle-aged Yorkshire women who produ ...

-style photoshoot to raise funds for Children in Need.

Child sexual abuse allegations and conviction

In January 2016, the Wadsworths went off air for "personal reasons", and in April 2016 it was announced that both were charged with historical child sex offences. Their trial at

Warwick Crown Court The Warwickshire Justice Centre is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, as well as a County Court venue, which deals with civil cases, in Newbold Terrace, Leamington Spa, England. The complex also incorporates magistrates' co ...

began on 19 May 2017; the couple denied the charges. The charges mostly involved the couple luring young boys into sex with Julie while Tony acted as a "lookout". The incidents occurred between 1992 and 1996, when the boys were aged from 11 to 15. On 9 June 2017, they were convicted of indecently assaulting six under-age boys and outraging public decency. Each was jailed for five years. Following their convictions, a spokesperson for the BBC stated that they no longer were employed by the corporation.

revoked Tony Wadsworth's doctorate.Disgraced ex-BBC WM host Tony Wadsworth stripped of university doctorate
''Birmingham Mail'' (21 June 2017). Retrieved 1 May 2018.

References

20th-century births Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century English criminals 21st-century English criminals BBC radio presenters English people convicted of indecent assault Criminal duos Criminals from Leicestershire Living people English people convicted of child sexual abuse English prisoners and detainees English radio DJs Married couples People from Leicester Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales Radio duos People stripped of honorary degrees Violence against men in the United Kingdom {{UK-radio-bio-stub