Adrian Chiles resents 'greedy' portrayal by BBC

Adrian Chiles has attacked the BBC - saying that he and Christine Bleakley were portrayed as greedy and put under "intolerable pressure" by the corporation.

The former One Show host announced he was leaving the BBC in April and fellow presenter Christine followed him out of the door two months later.

Adrian said: "They are trying to portray it as a classic big money move to ITV which couldn't be further from the truth."

Speaking at the launch of ITV's Daybreak, which Adrian will be presenting with Christine, he said: "I was, we were both, very happy to stay there. I didn't want any more money, just wanted to carry on doing a successful programme exactly like we had, i.e. The One Show five days a week, the Apprentice and Match Of The Day 2.

"Nothing needed to change but obviously change was suggested on The One Show I couldn't live with and that's why I left."

He said there was "no suitcase of money" offered to make him switch channels.

He said: "It just wasn't like that and I resent it being portrayed like that because it makes you look money motivated and greedy and neither of us are any of those things.

"We were both put under intolerable pressure. You're in an impossible situation, you can't tell the truth, you don't know what the truth is, from day to day it's changing."

Christine said she was in shock when she first heard her co-host, who had been removed from the Friday evening slot to make way for Chris Evans, was leaving.

She said: "The first day he left I thought, I've lost my right arm here and this is just strange. Suddenly everything I knew and loved changed overnight."