Bridget Jones writer Helen Fielding claims she was ‘routinely groped' while working at BBC

Irish Independent

05-05-2025

The 67-year-old claimed it was commonplace at the time for men at the broadcaster to touch women's breasts during conversations.
The author found fame in the noughties with her bestselling Bridget Jones novels, which were later adapted into a series of films starring Renee Zellweger
Describing an alleged culture of harassment, she said: 'I worked at the BBC when I was in my 20s, and you just got used to the fact that people would actually put their hand on your boob while they were talking to you about work.'
The author's comments, first reported by The Mail on Sunday, were made at the annual Soho Summit in Oxfordshire, last week.
Ms Fielding claimed women at the BBC had grown resigned to the behaviour. 'It just seemed to be what you put up with,' she said.
'I first wrote Bridget pre-MeToo, and when I look at that film now, I can't believe that that stuff was going on,' she added.
In scenes in the novels echoing her own experiences, Jones regularly fends off inappropriate advances − including from her boss Daniel Cleaver, played by Hugh Grant in the films, who gropes her in the office.
She is also sexually harassed by Mr Cleaver's manager Mr Fitzherbert, who openly stares at her breasts.
Ms Fielding claimed sexism remained deeply entrenched in the film world.
'I honestly think it's still there in the movie business, it's just under the parapet,' she said.
'I think there has to be a constant awareness of not being unequal in the way women are treated.
'You still have to fight much harder as a woman, even a successful woman, and you get treated in ways that men would not be treated.'
Her first BBC role after graduating from the University of Oxford was working behind the scenes on Jim'll Fix It, the children's show later at the centre of a scandal when its host Jimmy Savile was unmasked as a paedophile.
Ms Fielding has previously said she had concerns about Savile. She said in 2019: 'We always said, 'Don't leave Jimmy alone with the children'.'
A BBC spokesman told The Mail on Sunday: 'We're sorry to hear of these experiences.
'Attitudes and behaviours have changed significantly in the last 40 years and the BBC − like the rest of society − is [a] very different place now from what it was then.' (Telegraph Media Group Holdings Ltd)