BBC presenter Helen Skelton has said that she was once groped live on air by an interviewee.
The Countryfile host has said the incident happened while she was pregnant and fronting sporting coverage in 2014.
"Basically, this guy grabbed me on the arse when I was presenting live telly," she told the Telegraph. "I felt really awkward about it. I was pregnant at the time as well. I didn't really know what to do."
She added: “It’s intimidating and you don’t want to be the person who is being difficult and awkward. That’s just the culture that television breeds. No one wants to be difficult. You want to bring solutions, not problems. We are all ‘happy, happy'…’”
Skelton explained that her co-host Colin Murray raised the issue and the man was punished.
“[Colin] kicked off and said that needs dealing with,” she explained. “It was handled brilliantly because of that. I’d never thought about complaining. I don’t want it to become my identity. The man in question was punished. There was a line drawn under it, and that was that.”
Skelton also raised concerns with the discussion around the gender wage gap, warning the public may tire of the topic. “We have to be very careful that this doesn’t become a winging old boring argument. It needs to remain relevant," she said. "We need to – and I know this sounds awful… – keep the argument sexy. We have to keep it in the public eye.”
Skelton is taking part in Celebrity Boxing for Sport Relief, where she'll be taking on Love Island's Camilla Thurlow in the ring.
Celebrity Boxing for Sport Relief is on Friday March 23, 7pm, BBC1
