I've just gone ahead and closed as keep.
In a sense the BBC is gaming the system by writing out loud that Laura Coryton doesn't have an article but should be, because the article itself then becomes a reliable source which pushes the subject up a notch on the notability scale.
But on the AfD itself, few comments were raised about the BBC article's effect on this AfD. While I will never know how many of those unsubstantiated "keep because I think this article meets the inclusion guideline" comments were swayed by the BBC campaign, it seems that very few people thought the BBC campaign directly affected the notability of these women.
I hope these observations will be useful for future BBC/WMUK collaborations.
Deryck (with his en.wp admin hat on)