BBC axes Ashley Cain series and cuts ties over misogynistic posts

The BBC has well and truly binned its relationship with Ashley Cain after a batch of old, pretty grim social media posts surfaced. If you were waiting for season two of Ashley Cain: Into The Danger Zone, might want to cross that off the calendar—the plug's been pulled, it's not coming back, and the Beeb says they won't be working with Cain again, full stop.

Why the Sudden U-Turn?

So, what's rattled the broadcaster? This all kicked off after The Guardian dropped a report digging up Cain’s old posts from X (the artist formerly known as Twitter). These are from 2014 and 2015, but it’s the content that’s landed him in seriously hot water. In these posts, Cain allegedly used language about women that’s so abusive and misogynistic it’d make your eyes water.

For the record, we're talking about stuff like telling a woman to "s— a d—, and f— off," and calling women "sl—", "sl—", "b—hes," and "psychos." Not exactly the kind of banter you want turning up if you're fronting a documentary for the BBC.

BBC’s Response: Not Having It

After this all broke, the BBC released a statement and didn’t mince words. Here’s how they put it:

"The posts by Ashley Cain, albeit from many years ago, are completely unacceptable. 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."

They followed that up with the final nail in the coffin: the second series of Into The Danger Zone won’t see the light of day, and any future collaboration is off the cards.

What Happens to the Show Now?

Here’s the weird bit: season two of the show had already been produced. Yet with these posts coming back to haunt Cain and the BBC deciding they don't want his name anywhere near their output, that whole series is headed straight for the archive—never to air.

• Series: Ashley Cain: Into The Danger Zone
• What’s happened: BBC cancels season two after misogynistic posts from 2014-2015 come to light
• Key reason: Cain allegedly used highly offensive, abusive language about women on social media
• BBC’s take: Posts are 'completely unacceptable', process for vetting talent 'clearly failed', and an investigation is underway
• Outcome: No season two, no future BBC projects for Cain