Search icon

Movies & TV

25th Nov 2022

Katherine Ryan says famous TV star is a ‘predator’ and everyone in industry knows

Steve Hopkins

‘I called him a predator to his face and in front of everyone’

Katherine Ryan has claimed a famous TV star is a “predator” and everyone in the industry knows, prompting people to call on her to name the alleged offender.

The Canadian comedian, presenter and writer who is known for her appearances on shows like 8 Out of 10 Cats, Your Face or Mine? and The Duchess, recently appeared on an episode of Louis Theroux’s BBC Interviews series.

During the series, the 39-year-old, who has previously called out the TV industry for being sexist and ageist, told the journalist about an “open secret” in the TV industry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41rbK-_4DcM

Within the showbiz world, she told Theroux, there is a male comic who is a “sexual predator”, before admitting  “it’s very dangerous for us to have this conversation”.

She said: “I’m happy to have it, but it’s a litigious minefield because lots of people have tried to nail this person down for their alleged crimes and this person has very good lawyers, so am I going to put my mortgage on the line by saying who this person is or entering into any conversations like that?”

Before adding: “We’ve seen what happens to people who talk about alleged predators.” The Taskmaster star told Theroux that she had not been a victim of the alleged predator, but is aware the comic is known to behave a certain way, saying: “It’s not really my story to tell.

“No one has perpetrated any sexual assault against me, but this person, I believe very strongly – many people believe very strongly – is an open secret, is a perpetrator of sexual assault.”

Ryan said she had confronted the unnamed comic about their behaviour when they were on a TV show, she also did not identify.

“I called him a predator to his face and in front of everyone that day.

“What am I supposed to do? It’s such a messy thing because I don’t have proof. What, am I not supposed to feed my children because of someone else?”

According to reports, this segment of the unnamed show were cut.

“I still got paid and I still did my job, but I did it in my way, which I thought was fair,” Ryan said.

LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge