Exclusive: Some staff call decision a betrayal of young apprentices who are often selected to increase diversity

The BBC is facing internal anger after a group of apprentices were told they could no longer expect jobs they had been promised, as a result of the corporation’s sweeping cuts.

In a sign of the pressure the BBC is under to find savings, apprentices working with BBC News were told that “exceptional circumstances” meant the broadcaster could no longer stand by its pledge to find them permanent positions.

Amelia Dimoldenberg says publicists ignored her interview show for years but she can now be picky over A-list guests

Just a decade ago, Amelia Dimoldenberg found it impossible to drum up any mainstream celebrities to come on her mock date YouTube show, in which she chats awkwardly with guests over chicken and chips.

Even persuading a local actor connected with her London youth club to come on took years of prodding. Managers of A-listers with movies or albums to push instead battled to claim a spot on the hallowed cushions of the primetime TV chatshow sofa.