Vanessa Feltz says she was groped by paedophile Rolf Harris during TV interview

23 May 2023 , 21:17
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Vanessa Feltz says she was groped by paedophile Rolf Harris during TV interview
Vanessa Feltz says she was groped by paedophile Rolf Harris during TV interview

Presenter Vanessa Feltz opened up about her horrific experience of being groped by paedophile Rolf Harris when she was interviewing him on live television.

It comes as it was announced disgraced 93-year-old star Harris, who served three years in prison for his child sex attacks, died at his home from neck cancer and “frailty of old age” on May 10.

After the news of his death was announced, TalkTV's Vanessa discussed the harrowing moment as she appeared on her Drivetime show on May 23.

She said Harris groped her when she was interviewing him when she was fronting The Big Breakfast in 1996

A picture of her sitting on the bed on the set of the show was shown on screen during her TalkTV segment.

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Vanessa told fellow TalkTV presenter Kevin O'Sullivan: "If you look at the picture, you will see that I’m wearing a full-length beaded gown. I was always in full evening dress in the morning on the bed.

Vanessa Feltz says she was groped by paedophile Rolf Harris during TV interviewVanessa opened up about her horrific experience with Rolf Harris (TalkTV)

"This was the whole idea of it and the noise was my dress being crunched between Rolf’s fingers as he started at my ankles and began to bring the dress further and further and further up my legs."

She went on to explain that she used a blue cushion to create a barrier between the two but he "completely ignored it".

"And so I’m live on television and anybody who doesn't remember The Big Breakfast? Let me tell you what it was like. Jolly, lots of children watched it," Vanessa said.

Vanessa Feltz says she was groped by paedophile Rolf Harris during TV interviewVanessa was presenting on The Big Breakfast in 1996 when Harris appeared as a guest (TALK TV)

She added: "Very positive, very, very innocent, very fun show, and I can feel my dress coming further and further and further and further up my thighs, past my knees, past my knees up to my thighs."

Vanessa claimed that Harris's wife was standing only a foot-and-a-half away while the horrifying incident occurred.

"I didn't know what to do because I knew that I couldn't say, 'Get your hand off my leg' or 'What the hell do you think you're doing?' or 'Get off me' and I also couldn't jump off the bed because I was all mic-ed up and it's a live program. I didn't know what to do at all," she added.

Vanessa Feltz says she was groped by paedophile Rolf Harris during TV interviewRolf Harris died aged 93 earlier this month (AFP/Getty Images)

"I tried, as you can see, to put the cushion between, that was no good. I couldn't move any further away because you can see I would’ve fallen off the edge of the bed… his hand meanwhile was getting closer and closer and closer and closer and closer. And then it got to the edge of my pants, my knickers, or whatever. My lingerie, and I knew, that if I didn’t do something immediately, it was going to be a proper full-on assault.

"So I did what you're never allowed to do as a presenter, which I wouldn't be allowed to do on this show, which is thrown to a break when I want to, rather than waiting for the director to tell me a break’s coming up."

Harris was convicted in 2014 of 12 counts of indecent assault on four girls.

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He was released on licence from HMP Stafford on May 19 2017, less than three years after his sentence began.

Earlier this month, Harris died following a neck cancer diagnosis. But, his death was announced until today with his family having a secret ceremony to cremate the disgraced star.

Zara Woodcock

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