Rogue Traders presenter Dan Penteado has been jailed for 12 weeks for benefit fraud offences (Pic: BBC)

Mr Penteado, 40, from Bournemouth, admitted to a total of eight offences of dishonestly or knowingly claiming housing and council tax benefits, totalling over £24,000.

Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court heard how he failed to declare his BBC earnings while also claiming the benefits.

Penteado’s solicitor, Terrence Scanlan, previously told Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court that his client had made the ‘very poor judgement not to interrupt the flow of housing benefit’ while on a short-term contract with the BBC.

He was eventually caught out when a council housing benefit officer recognised him on the show, before matching the name to his fraudulent benefit application.

The offences committed by Penteado went back to 2007 when he took out his first claim form while also failing to declare he had another bank account.

He also failed to tell Bournemouth Borough Council that he had been paid over £56,000 for his work on the BBC consumer rights show in between 2008 and 2011.

He has been a part of the show, as a motorbike-riding, on-screen sidekick of star Matt Allwright, since 2001.

Dan Penteado failed to declare earnings from the BBC (Picture: BBC/PA)

Penteado, who co-hosts the consumer affairs show with Matt Allwright, was warned he could face a custodial sentence after being granted bail while a pre-sentence report is prepared at Bournemouth Magistrates Court.

The 40-year-old, from Bournemouth, admitted eight offences of knowingly claiming benefits while not declaring he earned thousands from the BBC.

Kerry O’Neill, prosecuting, said the offences dated back to 2007 when Penteado filled out his first claim form and failed to declare he had another bank account.

She said he repeated the fraud in the subsequent years up to 2011 and failed to tell Bournemouth Borough Council he had been paid more than £56,000 for work on Rogue Traders between 2008 and 2011.

‘He [Penteado] received £24,077.60 in housing and council tax benefit he was not entitled to,’ Ms O’Neill said.

‘He failed to notify the borough council of the money coming in.’

The court heard the council, which brought the prosecution, was seeking to recover the cash and Penteado had already repaid £210.

Penteado left court without commenting.

I was lucky enough to write last week’s television review for my favourite publication, Broadcast Magazine. If you missed out on this rare treat that will no doubt be framed in the BFI and talked about for many generations to come, here’s my televisual review for your delectation.

Room 101 / The Exit List / Gadget Geeks

It’s great to see Room 101 back on BBC1 with Frank Skinner in the hot seat. This time around, they’ve dropped the one-on-one interviews for a panel show feel that works really well, with guests Danny Baker, Robert Webb and Fern Britton competing to banish their worst nightmares. I bet Britton wishes she could put that gastric band in there.

Webb chose to banish chat show legend Jeremy Kyle. I have to disagree. Where would daytime TV be without the doyen of DNA results and his instructions for people with bad teeth to “get off ” his stage?

Apparently, George Orwell named Room 101 after a conference room at the BBC where he used to sit through tedious meetings. We’ve all been there.

As somebody who works in the world of gameshows, I must say I enjoyed The Exit List on ITV1. It was nice to see Matt Allwright in a role that wasn’t championing consumer rights, and refreshing to see a gameshow that doesn’t revolve around luck and chance.

Instead, it was a big-money memory game and I thought the format was compelling, with an evil dilemma at the end (a pre-requisite in any gameshow development meeting today).

There was also good playalong for us viewers at home. I like multiple-choice questions – they always make me think I know the answers when I’m clearly just guessing. My only negative would be leaving all the jeopardy until the very end. That’s a long time to wait between ads for cheap car insurance.

Also, as much as I enjoy these intense-style gameshows, I do miss the occasional old-fashioned ones with laughter, speedboats and upbeat theme tunes.

Finally, we have Gadget Geeks on Sky 1, a show that does exactly what it says on the tin. Sky has found an accessible way to bring a new tech show to a mainstream audience. And, as we all depend on a gaggle of gadgets to control every waking moment of our lives, this show should find a fan base.

It’s gimmicky in places, but that hasn’t done Top Gear any harm, has it? Plus it’s doubtful the presenters will upset as many people as Jeremy Clarkson.

Matt Allwright presents new game show The Exit List (Picture: ITV)

Misfits

Misfits is incredible – really clever and well-made. I’ve always liked superheroes and the best part of any story is when they first get their powers, and you get that in Misfits. They keep changing their powers and developing new ones; it’s so inventive and funny. Lauren Socha, who plays Kelly, is one of those actresses you can’t take your eyes off, and for the third series they had Joseph Gilgun, who is also a brilliant actor.

Merlin

In our household, Merlin on BBC1 is an absolute must-not-miss as well. My son is obsessed with it and I love it, too. It’s perfect Saturday night television. The lead, Colin Morgan, has a nice comic touch about him and there is a bit of bromance between him and King Arthur going on. And there is lots of sloshing around in floaty dresses for dad, so yeah, we never miss it.

Harry Hill ‘s TV Burp

Harry Hill is just brilliant; it’s my ambition to get one of the programmes I’ve made on TV Burp. Obviously, he would be taking the mickey out of it, but it’s just having a swipe at TV in such a good-natured way. It’s got that sense of The Goodies about it: it’s totally absurd and ridiculous but we watch it and laugh and laugh.

My favourite TV character

Probably, Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge. As a TV presenter, I’ve been in a lot of those situations, like meetings with commissioners, and you end up wondering: ‘Is what I said worse than monkey tennis?’ You can see why he gets himself into those situations – it’s utter genius.

The Exit List starts tonight at 8pm on ITV1.

The Mystery Of Edwin Drood adapts Charles Dickens’ last unfinished novel (Picture: BBC)

The Mystery Of Edwin, Drood BBC2, 9pm

With every shot looking like a glossy movie still, the recent Great Expectations felt too stylish for its own good. Gwyneth Hughes’ adaptation of Dickens last unfinished novel, however, brings things back down to earth thanks to Diarmuid ‘Little Dorrit’ Lawrence’s direction: it’s involving and intimate, and does well in casting the spirited Freddie Fox as the young orphan whose romantic entanglement is the envy of his choirmaster uncle. Part two tomorrow night. Unforgettable, Sky Living, 9pm

This new crime drama rests on an intriguing premise: Carrie Wells is a former cop who can memorise everything – places, times, conversations – but not, frustratingly, the details of the murder of her sister, which she witnessed years ago. This opener sees her brought back into the crime fighting fold as she helps her former detective boyfriend track down a killer, and showcases former Without A Trace team player Poppy Montgomery as an appealing leading lady. The Exit List, ITV1, 8pm

Matt Allwright takes a break from championing consumer rights to present a game show – but at least it’s one with an element of brains. The Exit List is a list of answers to the questions contestants have been set in each room of a 24 – room maze – and they have to remember the lot (and more, if they’ve got any questions wrong) if they wish to escape. The prize pot is a cool £200,000. The Biggest Loser, ITV1, 9pm

It’s week two for Davina and her weight loss competition, and this time she has the contestants digging through sand in a bid to gain immunity at the weigh-in. More alarming, however, is the trip to see a health bod at Birmingham University, who declares that one of the contenders may only have 15 years left to live. Fat Surgeons, Really, 9pm

Really’s contribution to the bulge of weight loss telly follows over-eaters in the run-up or aftermath to/of gastric surgery. Former bus driver Guy has a cheery tale: he’s lost 19 stone since his op in 2007 and has now found love;Irene, meanwhile, wonders how she’ll cope with her new tiny stomach after she’s had surgery to bring her BMI down from a gut-busting 47. FILM CHOICE: Once Upon A Time In America, 11.40pm, Film4

Compared to Sergio Leone’s celebrated Spaghetti Westerns the last film by the great Italian director remains a rarely screened, little seen masterpiece. But despite a near four hour running time and a complex flashback structure that seems to tease it may all be an opium dream, this towering, mesmerising crime epic can stand shoulder to shoulder with yer Goodfellas and Godfathers. Robert De Niro is at his most composed as Noodles, the Jewish gangster who returns to his native Brooklyn in the 1960s to look back on his life. 

There is a faint hope for the autumn, with some interesting programmes in the pipeline.  But in the area of what used to be called “light entertainment” the prospects are dire.  This seems to be where BBC people try to prove how innovative they are by mucking about with established programmes and wrecking them.   We await with unbated breath the 2010 Strictly Come Dancing, knowing that it’s already wrecked.  Half the professional dancers have left because of the changes, but Forsyth is still there;  we don’t know who the “celebrities” are, or whether we’ll recognise more than two or three of them, but we won’t know most of the professional dancers either.  I suspect the ratings will not be good.  Another example is The One Show.  It was jogging along quite happily, with Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley.  Most people didn’t watch it for the presenters, but for the guests and the odd items.  Then some bright spark decided to bring in Chris Evans for the Friday edition.  Why?  Chiles, unsurprisingly, left for ITV.  Bleakley dithered then joined him.  For weeks their places were taken by established BBC presenters; Matt Allwright, Louise Minchin, Matt Baker, Gabby Logan.  They did a competent job, and the audience was happy.  But the producers had already signed up Jason Manford, a little-known comedian.  Why?  And they brought in Alex Jones, who is very Welsh and not very good.  Worse, the guests are often not people you want to spend half an hour with, and the items have become too desperate to amuse.  The audiences, we learn, are declining.  I’m not surprised.

We’ve had the usual summer of trash and repeats (often repeats of the trash), a situation which gives the lie to Mark Thompson’s insistence on the quality of the BBC’s output.  The bosses spend our money with gay abandon, and are cosying up to the government to try to ensure that it keeps flowing.  I hope the government sees the BBC as a good target for cuts.

Matt Allwright presented BBC1′s The Secret Tourist

They’re a dodgy lot, those foreigners, always out to rip us off and poison us at the first opportunity. At least that’s the world according to the xenophobic nightmare that wasThe Secret Tourist (BBC1), a show seemingly designed to ensure that none of us ever set foot out of Britain again.

As an exercise in investigative reporting, The Secret Tourist failed on so many levels it was laughable. It was more Beadle’s About than Panorama, with gruesomely matey presenter Matt Allwright taking perverse delight in fooling assorted gullible tourists with a smörgåsbord of scams. All in the interests of public information, of course.

One of the more ludicrous exercises was sending a volunteer family to a supposed four-star resort in the Dominican Republic armed with the knowledge that it had been the subject of a fistful of complaints about everything from murky sanitation to manky food.

So inevitably they picked faults in the place from the minute they arrived, appearing shocked that a cabaret played loud music. Until midnight! Lighten up, you miseries, you’re on a free holiday.

The honeytrap modus operandi of The Secret Tourist was to create problems where none existed, faking boat excursions (tip: always check there’s a boat if you’re buying a boat ticket) and roaming assorted doctors’ surgeries in a bid to point the finger at absurd diagnoses.

Ever felt talked down to? ‘Some did give the correct diagnosis,’ conceded reporter Carol Machin, ‘but seven out of 14 – that’s half…’ Sorry, I stopped listening at that point. Any show that needs to tell me seven is half of 14 makes my ears bleed.

To be fair, there was the odd snippet of sound advice in The Secret Tourist, such as: ‘We’re all conditioned to trust people in uniforms.’

Yes, there’s a distinct possibility your hotel receptionist could be a spy. But the whole tone from Allwright and his motley crew was so parochially triumphalist I wouldn’t have been sorry to see them choke on their Union flag undies.

The panel show regular will join Christine Bleakley to present the flagship BBC1 magazine programme.

Jason Manford is the new host of BBC1′s The One Show

He will join the team in July, the corporation said, and will co-host the show from Monday to Thursday.

Others who had been thought to be in the frame included Matt Allwright and Matt Baker .

Chiles made an emotional farewell to viewers last month in his final appearance on The One Show.

The presenter has defected to ITV in a deal which sees him heading to the GMTV sofa and fronting a range of shows including football coverage.

Chiles had appeared on the BBC1 weekday magazine programme since 2007, co-presenting with Myleene Klass when the show first hit TV screens.

During his tenure, Chiles dressed as James Bond, broke a kissing record, was caned on his backside and donned a pair of high heels.

He was thought to have agreed a £6 million contract over four years with ITV after becoming disenchanted by the BBC’s decision to replace him with Chris Evans on The One Show on Friday nights.

Lancashire-born Manford, 29, said: “I am thrilled to be part of The One Show team. My dad put £10 at 500/1 that I’d get the job so it just made sense.”

The panel show regular will join Christine Bleakley to present the flagship BBC1 magazine programme.

Jason Manford is going to take over presenting The One Show

He will join the team in July, the corporation said, and will co-host the show from Monday to Thursday.

Others who had been thought to be in the frame included Matt Allwright and Matt Baker .

Chiles made an emotional farewell to viewers last month in his final appearance on The One Show.

The presenter has defected to ITV in a deal which sees him heading to the GMTV sofa and fronting a range of shows including football coverage.

Chiles had appeared on the BBC1 weekday magazine programme since 2007, co-presenting with Myleene Klass when the show first hit TV screens.

During his tenure, Chiles dressed as James Bond, broke a kissing record, was caned on his backside and donned a pair of high heels.

He was thought to have agreed a £6 million contract over four years with ITV after becoming disenchanted by the BBC’s decision to replace him with Chris Evans on The One Show on Friday nights.

The former Blue Peter host, who also presents Countryfile, will step in on the BBC One early evening show for a fortnight from May 17.

Matt Baker will be a stand-in host on The One Show

His appearance may fuel speculation about being offered a more permanent slot.

Adrian quit the show, and all his other BBC commitments, last month in a move to ITV. He had been unhappy with moves to bring Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans in to present The One Show each Friday and surprised the BBC by not renewing his contract.

Watchdog presenter Matt Allwright has been drafted in to host the programme this week and next – with comic Paul Merton sitting in tonight (Thursday) and next Thursday when it clashes with Allwright’s main role.

Baker has helped to transform Countryfile into a prime-time hit show after two decades in a Sunday morning slot.

Will Richard Hammond be the new Richard Chiles?

The One Show’s Friday night spot has already been handed to Chris Evans but a list of other contenders to join Christine Bleakley during the rest of the week has emerged.

Hammond, 40, is said to be on the top of the BBC’s wish list for the presenter role, according to The Sun.

Other names circulating for the coveted position include Rav Wilding and Matt Allwright, while possible stand-ins could be Strictly Come Dancing winner Chris Hollins or the X Factor’s Dermot O’Leary.

As Chiles leaves the BBC at the end of the month for ITV, his other jobs are also becoming available such as the spot for Match Of The Day 2 and You’re Fired!

Radio 5 Live DJ Colin Murray and BBC business editor Robert Peston are said to be in line for the roles.