The BBC chairman Richard Sharp is under increased pressure to step down.
A growing number of people are challenging his position, including Jonathan Dimbleby and Baroness Wheatcroft.
Mr. Sharp is under fire for his part in arranging a £800,000 loan for Boris Johnson, the then-prime minister.
When Mr. Sharp applied for the BBC job, a committee of MPs claimed he made "significant errors of judgment.". He maintains that his merit-based hiring process led to his success.
Veteran BBC broadcaster Mr. Dimbleby said on Newsnight: "[Mr. Sharp] should do the right thing and take the fall for it. ".
On the basis of the available information, he declared, "I have no doubt that he was appointed on merit.". The problem is merely one of accountability and transparency. ".
He cautioned that the corporation's reputation among the general public was in jeopardy and said, "The BBC needs this like it needs a hole in the head.".
According to cross-party peer Baroness Wheatcroft, who serves on the Lords Communications and Digital Committee, it is "impossible" to disagree with Mr. Dimbleby's viewpoint.
She said on BBC Radio 4's Today program, "Even if Mr. Sharp acted absolutely correctly, it doesn't look right, it doesn't smell right, and it doesn't feel right for the BBC to have a chairman who is now being questioned about his judgment.".
"It might be a regular occurrence in the circles that Mr. Sharp moves in, and it might be that £800,000 is just chicken feed to him, but to most people who love the BBC, £800,000 is a massive sum," she continued.
"At a time when the prime minister was being asked to do Mr. Sharp a huge favor and give him one of the most prestigious jobs in British broadcasting, he did a favor for a prime minister who needed it. " .
The BBC chair's duties include, among other things, upholding and safeguarding the organization's independence and ensuring that its mission to inform, educate, and entertain is carried out.
All other BBC board members and Mr. Sharp have been contacted by BBC News for comment.
In response to a question on Monday, Rishi Sunak shied away from answering whether he had confidence in the BBC chairman, saying he wouldn't "pre-judge" the results of an investigation by the independent office for public appointments, which he claimed would determine whether "rules and procedures were adhered to.".
In response to a direct question about Mr. Sunak's confidence in Mr. Sharp, the prime minister's official spokesperson replied, "Yes, we are confident the process was followed," before adding, "But there is a review into this process, and we will look at that carefully. ".
The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee released a report on Sunday that came to the conclusion that Mr. Sharp shouldn't have assisted in arranging the loan while also applying for a position at the BBC.
Sam Blyth, a Canadian millionaire and distant cousin of Mr. Johnson, had expressed a willingness to serve as a guarantor on the loan after learning the then-prime minister was having financial difficulties, and Mr. Sharp served as his "go-between.".
Simon Case, the top civil servant in the nation, was approached by Mr. Sharp, who was at the time serving as a Treasury adviser, to set up a meeting between the two.
According to the report, Mr. Sharp should have disclosed his knowledge of the talks as potential conflicts of interest when applying to the BBC.
Even though he acknowledged having a social gathering with Mr Johnson and Mr. Blyth at Chequers months later, Mr. Sharp insists his involvement in the matter ended with that one meeting.
He acknowledged acting as a "sort of introduction agency" last week but insisted to MPs that he "didn't arrange the loan.".
The BBC had been embarrassed by the incident, he acknowledged, but he insisted he had "acted in good faith to ensure that the rules were followed."
