UPDATE: |Dragons’ Den star opens up about ‘very tough decision’ after BBC cancel podcast News

The podcast focused on one of the possible solutions to reducing carbon emissions

A Dragons’ Den star has opened up about a ‘very tough decision’ after the BBC decided to cancel his podcast.

Presenter Evan Davis has been working on the popular programme since 2005, meeting hundreds of people hoping to launch their business ventures.

The BBC Radio 4 host announced this week that he would no longest be hosting his popular podcast about heat pumps.

Evan confirmed that he was informed a few weeks ago that the Happy Heat Pump Podcast could be seen as a breach of the BBC’s rules around presenters speaking about issues of public policy.

The podcast focused on one of the possible solutions to reducing carbon emissions, with it reported that the topic of climate change may be the public policy that caused the issue.

Speaking to the PA news agency, Evan claimed that the BBC believes ‘there’s a danger he will be seen’ being in favour of heat pumps as a source of efficient heating technology

“Perception matters, so they thought it was probably unhelpful. I just did it for the sort of fun of it, but they do always regulate what you do outside, and I totally accept that they have to make those judgments,” he said.

Confirming that he received no money for the podcast and is not involved in any heat pump business arrangements, Evan said he is ‘not bitter’ about the decision.

Stating that he ‘does not agree with the judgement’, Evan said he thought the podcast was ‘promoting an understanding of heat pumps, not promoting heat pumps’.

Asked if he thought political opposition to net zero was the issue, Evan said it was ‘very much probably in the minds of the BBC’.

He explained: “If you don’t like net zero, you’re probably not going to think we need to install heat pumps, and … that’s a perfectly legitimate point of view.”

Additionally, Evan said that the ‘BBC didn’t want him to do’ the podcast as heat pumps ‘have been an issue that’s been argued about’.

Evan noted that there is an ‘irony’ that air conditioning has not been in the ‘middle of a cultural war’, when the technology uses a similar refrigerant liquid to make rooms hot and cool.

“There were some conversations internally about it, and the decision was finally confirmed about two weeks ago, and we wanted to record a little mini last episode, just closing the series down so that’s why we didn’t announce it until yesterday.

“I actually chatted to (director-general of the BBC) Tim Davie about it, he thought it was very tough decision and a very finely balanced thing, we had really grown-up conversations about it, it’s not like it’s been a sort of horrendous process.

“Tim appreciated that for me, this was a bit of a hobby, and I am very interested in this transition, or this potential transition,” he said.

According to Evan, the BBC don’t want him to take down the 20 or so episodes of the show, and he thinks they ‘should talk about doing something’ on the broadcaster on heat pumps.

A BBC spokeswoman said: “The BBC editorial guidelines are clear that anyone working for the BBC who does an external public speaking or writing engagement should not compromise the impartiality or integrity of the BBC or its content, or suggest that any part of the BBC endorses a third-party organisation, product, service or campaign.”