A senior Channel Seven manager called a Jewish staff member “Ann Frankenstein” in anti-Semitic text messages and said “the character in a play we’ve written” wanted to bash his head in with a cricket bat, a Four Corners investigation has uncovered.

The text messages were sent to producer Taylor Auerbach during his four years working at Spotlight by executive producer Mark Llewellyn, who was forced to resign from the network in April after the program became embroiled in scandal.

The messages formed part of Auerbach’s workers compensation claim against Seven.

In one message, described by Auerbach’s lawyer as “anti-Semitic”, Mark Llewellyn mocks Auerbach’s striped shirt, as looking like concentration camp pyjamas.

“Why is he wearing the holocaust Jim Jams?”

Taylor Auerbach is Jewish. Llewellyn, who was the most senior manager on the current affairs program, followed up, writing that Auerbach was:

“Ann Frankenstein.”

…

At the time Auerbach did not convey his distress at these messages and dismissed them with humour.

Llewellyn said in a statement, “I categorically deny engaging in any conduct that is anti-Semitic or which constitutes bullying, discrimination or misconduct”.

Seven knew about the text messages in August last year, eight months before Llewellyn resigned.

The texts were not provided to Four Corners by Taylor Auerbach, who is one of many former Seven staff who have signed non-disclosure agreements with the media company after making complaints about how they were treated.