EXCLUSIVE: Sky News presenter Cathy Newman told the Mirror that she had been speaking to Lucy Beaumont for years and that the interview about the David Walliams allegations had been in the making a long time
Lucy Beaumont was “very nervous and fearful” before she spoke out about helping an alleged victim of David Walliams, Sky News presenter Cathy Newman has said.
The comedian, 43, was close to tears on Tuesday in her first TV interview as she said that the alleged victim claimed they were taken to Walliams and told to sign an NDA preventing them from speaking to friends and family.
She also confirmed that she was one of the whistleblowers who alerted the Guardian to Walliams’ alleged conduct.
Walliams, 55, denies reports of alleged “abuse of his power and status” to contact young women and try to engage in “inappropriate and exploitative sexual activities”.
Cathy, 52, said that the interview with Lucy on her Sky News show had been “in the making for a long time”. Speaking to the Mirror, she also said that she fears Lucy’s concerns that she won’t work in TV again may be well-founded.
“I’ve actually been talking to her, on and off, for years so I just feel that interview had been in the making for a long time,” she said. “I knew that she was very nervous about speaking out in the interview. She was fearful, to be honest.
“She talked about by speaking out she may never work in TV again, because that’s what women who are at the heart of this do fear, that they’ll be punished, they’ll be seen as trouble makers, they won’t get work.
“So after we had done the interview she was incredibly fearful of what the consequences might be, so I think that was why it struck a real chord.”
Cathy hailed Lucy for being “so courageous” for speaking out and said that it was clear how genuine her anxiety was. Over 10 million people have now watched the interview on various platforms and there has since been an outpouring of support for Lucy.
“I think she’s really pleasantly surprised that she’s had so much support,” Cathy said of Lucy’s reaction to the public response. “But high profile comedians, both men and women, should – now that she’s taken that risk of speaking out – be backing her up.”
Asked whether Lucy was right to worry about not working in TV again, Cathy said: “I hope this genuinely is a watershed moment but I fear that it might not be.” Citing the MeToo and Time’s Up movements, she pointed out that the discussion on how things need to change happens every time.
Cathy said she spoke to her young daughters after the interview as she thought back to her own career. “Newspapers, TV, office – there’s often some kind of inappropriate behaviour or sexual harassment from senior men,” she said.
“I did report one incident anonymously but I didn’t report any of the others because, why would I? Similar to all the other women I’ve been speaking to, they fear the risk to their careers. I’m the main breadwinner in my family, I can’t jeopardise my job and speak out.
“So I hope things are changing but I fear there’s still a lot of jeopardy for women reporting what’s happening to them in the workplace.”
*Cathy Newman’s new Sky News video-first podcast series Backstory is available now.
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