Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett is facing questions over his hit Diary of a CEO podcast after a investigation by BBC News raised concerns over health claims made by several guests.
The entrepreneur, who made his fortune after co-founding Social Chain in Manchester after dropping out of university, has been accused of amplifying harmful health misinformation on the podcast.
According to the BBC, guests on Steven Bartlett’s show were allowed to put forward claims such as that cancer can be treated by following a keto diet, rather than proven treatments.
BBC World Service looked at 15 health-related podcast episodes which were each found to contained an average of 14 harmful health claims that went against extensive scientific evidence.
In a statement Flight Studio, Bartlett’s production company, said guests were offered “freedom of expression” and were “thoroughly researched”.
A spokesperson for Flight Studio told the BBC: “The Diary of a CEO [DOAC] is an open-minded, long-form conversation… with individuals identified for their distinguished and eminent career and/or consequential life experience.”
Flight Studio and Steven Bartlett have been contacted by City AM.
Bartlett first launched the Diary of a CEO podcast in 2017 and initially focused on entrepreneurship and business.
In an interview with The Times in April, Bartlett said he expected the podcast to generate £20m in 2024.
Earlier this year, adverts featuring Steven Bartlett for nutrition brands Zoe and Huel have been banned after it was ruled they failed to disclose their commercial relationship with the celebrity entrepreneur.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has said the adverts, which were seen on Facebook in February, “omitted material information” about their links to Bartlett.
Bartlett is an investor in Zoe and a director at Huel.
The ASA found the two adverts for Huel and one for Zoe were misleading or likely to mislead consumers.