Helen Fielding, the author of Bridget Jones, claims that during the 1980s when she worked for the BBC she was groped by male coworkers that she had just “got used to.”
Bridget Jones author Helen Fielding has hit out at the BBC after she claimed she was “groped” by male colleagues while working at the broadcaster during the eighties. The 67 year old star, who was propelled to the dizzy heights of fame after her novel became a Hollywood blockbuster in 2001, candidly revealed in a recent interview that women would constantly have their breasts touched by men.
Helen acknowledged that when I was in my 20s, people would actually touch your boob while they were conversing with you about work.
She continued, “It just seemed to be what you put up with,” at the Soho Farmhouse, during the summit. I wrote Bridget when it was still in development before #MeToo, and I still can’t believe that all that was happening.
In the film, which reflected Helen’s experiences at the BBC, Bridget Jones played by Renee Zellweger, is persistently batting off unwanted sexual advances by men including her boss Daniel Cleaver, played by Hugh Grant.
Hollywood stars like Rebel Wilson and Gillian Anderson both spoke at the annual summit, noting that sexism was still prevalent in the film industry.
Helen continued, “I think it’s still present in the movie industry, just below the parapet.” I believe there must be a persistent awareness of the injustices that women face.
She continued, “You still have to fight much harder as a woman, even if you are successful, and you are treated in ways that men would not be.” And there is no denying that something needs to change in this situation.
Helen worked backstage at the well-known children’s TV program Jim’ll Fix It, which Jimmy Savile hosted after his death, when she left Oxford University.
Jimmy Saville was exposed as a serial liar after Helen worked on the show for a number of years. His antics were being whispered among the staff at the time, despite not being made public.
She continued, “Well, we always said, Don’t leave Jimmy alone with the children,” when addressing her concerns. However, we were a little over 23 years old, … The producers must have known, I’m sure of it.
We didn’t think he would do anything, she continued. But he was incredibly creepy. We remained with the children.”
Helen joined the BBC as a regional researcher for Nationwide in 1979.
We regret hearing about these experiences, according to a BBC spokesman in response to Helen’s claims.
The statement continued, “The BBC is very different from what it was then, and attitudes and behaviors have changed significantly over the past 40 years.”
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Source: Mirror
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