A BBC star is accused of attempting to recruit members to an organisation alleged to be a “messianic cult”.
Former Radio Derby presenter Pam Sidhu departed her regular evening slot in November 2023 before the broadcaster launched an investigation into her ties to controversial group EDUCO.
Founded by Irish-born self-help guru and businessman Dr Tony Quinn in the 1990s, the pseudo-religion has previously been accused of coercive control and brainwashing.
It reportedly charges thousands of pounds for mindfulness-style seminars around the world, promising to reprogramme the mind like a computer.
Attendees have previously claimed they were encouraged to remortgage their homes to afford the extortionate fees and that it targeted vulnerable people.
Millionaire Dr Quinn previously said he could cure cancer through positive thinking, with some former members saying they believed he was Jesus Christ.
Introductory events have reportedly been held in London as recently as 2020.
In 2010, Dr Quinn was sued in the Irish High Court for alleged sexual assault, battery and fraudulent misrepresentation – claims he denied.
ALLEGATIONS
Referring to Sidhu, a source close to the group told The Sun: “I’ve been trying to raise concerns about her for the last two years.
“Her and her husband were the Manchester recruiting team for EDUCO.”
The source said he initially contacted multiple people at the BBC but was continually “fobbed off”.
Sidhu, who worked on a freelance basis, made a one-off return to the broadcaster’s local network when she covered for another presenter in August this year on BBC Radio Nottingham.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”My parents joined a cult when I was 10 – it was years of manual labor and corporal punishment until I escaped” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6363760253112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]The source said: “That’s when I escalated the complaint to the BBC and got a meeting with bosses.”
The broadcaster carried out due diligence into her activity with EDUCO and it’s understood did not see any issue.
The Sun has seen evidence the BBC’s safeguarding department was alerted but the concern was eventually downgraded to its investigations team, before a meeting with the whistleblower was held in September last year.
The BBC then told them via email that the case had been closed.
And while we understand the broadcaster has no current plans to work with Sidhu, it has not ruled out doing so in the future.
There is no evidence she left her Radio Derby show due to the allegations.
‘VICTIM’
A former colleague of Sidhu’s – not from the BBC – has told the Sun she was recruited to EDUCO by the presenter after they met in 2018.
She described herself as “very vulnerable” at the time and over several months was persuaded to attend a £4,000 seminar in the Bahamas in February 2019 where she met Dr Quinn himself.
She said he was described as “the light of the world” and it was made clear “the more people that join, the more… people will awake”.
“Now, when I think about it, after getting treatment, it’s all delusional stuff,” she said.
Referring to Sidhu, the victim said: “She made me talk to my brothers and some of my friends to join. She wanted me to become a recruiter.”
She went on to say: “Every time they had a meeting, they would never call it EDUCO. They were very careful not to leave a trace.
“They specifically told us to not google Tony Quinn.”
She continued: “I was very delusional. I felt like he had something to offer to the world and he was special, because he was transferring this sort of energy onto other people.”
The victim said the group used Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) techniques and hypnotism, and she was encouraged to do the next level seminar, costing £20,000.
She would often attend meetings in London on Sidhu’s behalf, she claimed.
Describing the BBC presenter, she said: “She thinks that she’s very special, and she has this special power, and her intuition is on point.”
But they have not spoken since 2022.
The victim was involved with the group for around two years, before she suffered a mental breakdown.
By that point, she had spent thousands on products from the group, usually on credit cards as well as loans from her brother, and is currently homeless.
“That experience had a profound impact on my life,” she explained.
She has since been diagnosed with schizoaffective and bipolar disorder.
She claimed EDUCO encouraged her to stop taking antidepressants and prevented her seeing a psychiatrist.
[quote credit=”EDUCO victim”]Every time they had a meeting, they would never call it EDUCO. They were very careful not to leave a trace.They specifically told us to not google Tony Quinn[/quote]Sidhu’s spouse, Ranjeev Singh Sidhu, has EDUCO listed in the education section of his LinkedIn profile.
In 2009, a testimony attributed to him was left on the now-archived EDUCO Success website.
It said: “It would be truly amazing if one day every school child were taught the basics of EDUCO – it would give them the edge in their lives.”
Pam Sidhu’s X account describes her as a “mindfulness teacher” and in June 2020 she commented on a video posted on the EducoWorld Facebook page, saying: “Very inspirational.”
On November 4 2023 she posted on X announcing she would no longer be hosting the Radio Derby evening show.
She said: “It’s a wrap!! After 2 years of covering the evening show at @bbcderby last night was my final evening show!
“From next week there’s a new schedule and the evening show will now be regional.
“It’s been a real honour and privilege to highlight local talent and give local people a voice.”
She is currently a presenter on Sabras Radio.
The Sun has approached Pam Sidhu and Ranjeev Singh Sidhu for comment.
The BBC did not wish to comment.
EXPERT
Cult expert Richard Turner, who runs To Think Again, a therapy service for victims, said EDUCO appears to have all the red flags of a cult.
He said: “If you search for EDUCO online the term ‘cult’ comes up repeatedly and therefore there is a huge red flag waving in the sky.
“There seems to be claims that Tony Quinn is a God-like character (a common feature of a controlling group) who members worship and numerous comments referencing financial exploitation, the group causing mental suffering, making false claims and promises and
fraudulent activity.
“If I knew somebody who was involved with Educo I would
be seriously concerned for their wellbeing.”
A CULT victim has described how brain-washed members donated all their money and were subjected to bizarre ‘teaching’ videos of the sect’s leaders in hot tubs.
Richard Turner was ironically working for a modern slavery support charity tied to the ominous Hope City Church when he was inadvertently drawn into its dark web.
More than a decade after his first encounter with the church in a hotel in Liverpool, the 41-year-old is still coming to terms with his trauma.
Now rebranded as C3 Hope after an internal investigation saw founder Dave Gilpin resign and leave the country in 2020, the church still has multiple branches across the North of England.
However, C3 has completely distanced itself from its previous iteration and is under new leadership – while Mr Gilpin has criticised the probe report as “incomplete”.
Richard, originally from Merseyside but who now lives in York, is the son of a Church of England vicar.
In a bid to support other cult survivors and help them recognise when they are being manipulated by such coercion, he has agreed to share his story.
Richard began working for City Hearts charity – now replaced by Causeway – in 2013, then tied to the church’s trust.
He was in a vulnerable place and easily latched onto the group’s teachings.
Some of his work line managers were pastors, and so it was an easy trap to fall into.
He’d always been part of different Christian churches throughout his life.
The group used a technique Richard referred to as “love bombing”, telling you how great you are and how pleased they were you’d joined them.
But quickly, members’ self-esteem was broken down to the point they felt worthless without such ‘love’.
Richard even began to starve himself for weeks becoming ill in a confused bid to feel closer to God, before being humiliated by the leaders for being “too obsessive”, despite that being their teachings.
At one stage he was dating a long-term member who had been advised to cut off her own mum – and the couple were even assigned ‘accountability partners’ who reported back everything they did whilst together.
They weren’t allowed to ever kiss and were forbidden from ever sleeping in the same building.
Richard was housed with several other members for a time, and they would report back on anything he did – and would often go snooping in his room when he was out looking for further fuel for the leaders to use.
Richard told The Sun: “The messed up thing about cults is they break you and then blame you for being broken.
“That’s why it’s hard to recover because you still think it’s your fault.”
Read the full story here.
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