Cliff Notes – Joanna Page says she was groped by TV show host after being warned he was ‘handsy’
- Joanna Page alleges she was groped by a TV host after being warned by a producer about his ‘handsy’ behaviour during filming.
- In her new book, Lush!: My Story, she recounts feeling nervous and ultimately confronting the host after he began to touch her inappropriately.
- Legal constraints prevent Page from naming the host, although she reflects on the bizarre nature of being forewarned about such conduct by a female producer.
Joanna Page says she was groped by TV show host after being warned he was ‘handsy’
The Gavin and Stacey star made the allegations in her new book (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Gavin and Stacey star Joanna Page has said she was groped by a TV host after being warned he was handsy.
The TV star, 48, says she was warned by a producer that the host would ‘probably start touching her’ and that he could be ‘very handsy’.
She added she was already nervous about meeting him, but that her nervousness increased as she ‘sat there waiting for him to spring on her’.
Joanna made these allegations in her new book, Lush!: My Story – From Swansea To Stacey And Everything In Between.
During an interview with The Times to promote the book, she was asked more about the incident.
‘Halfway through filming, he starts groping me,’ she told the paper.
Joanna is best known for playing Stacey on the popular sitcom Gavin and Stacey. (Picture: BBC Picture Archives)
‘I hit his hands and said: “What do you think you’re bloody doing? Keep your f***ing hands to yourself! … Jesus, I feel like I’m in Bristol Zoo being mauled by the lions.”
‘He stopped. It was bizarre, a female producer telling you this was going to happen, but it’s what you got used to.’
Joanna cannot name the host for legal reasons, explaining to The Times that her legal team told her to ‘be careful’.
During the same interview, Joanna also discusses when, in 2009, she was asked to pose for the FHM cover.
Joanna cannot name the presenter for legal reasons (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
The actor agreed to the shoot on the proviso that she wouldn’t do it in her underwear.
Upon arriving, though, she was presented with a selection of bras and knickers to wear.
Threatening to leave, the FHM team agreed to a compromise where she would be allowed to pose in ‘big pants and a vest’.
‘I’m a tomboyish person,’ she explained. ‘In private, I feel sexy, I don’t have any hang-ups there, but on screen I want to play the quirky, kooky ones. I can’t do the sexy poses and faces.’
Lush! goes on sale on September 25.