Joanna Page has disclosed that she felt compelled to 'laugh off' being groped by a male TV presenter, after a producer warned her he was 'handsy'. The Gavin and Stacey star, 48, made the allegations in her memoir Lush!: My Story – From Swansea To Stacey And Everything In Between.
Speaking to PA, Page said she was told by a producer before filming that the unnamed host would 'probably start touching her'. 'It was like, “Oh, Ok, right, well, I can deal with that”. So I went out on set and we’re filming and then he starts groping me and I said something like, “God, I feel like I’m in Bristol Zoo” and knocked his hand away,' she recalled.
Page explained that she felt unable to report the incident due to the prevailing culture at the time. 'You don’t ever go, “Oh God, I’m going to report this” because in those days you kind of didn’t, you just got on with it, it was what happened at work,' she said. She added that she 'didn’t want to make a fuss' and that the only way to deal with it was to 'laugh it off'.
Page also revealed a separate incident involving a well-known theatre director who attempted to grope her while she was in her dressing room, barely clothed. 'I remember being in my knickers and wrapping the curtain around me and this director coming and hugging me and wanting to give me a kiss and not leaving me alone,' she said. She held onto the curtain until he left.
Despite improvements in safety, Page believes sexual harassment will persist in the industry. 'When you’ve got young, beautiful girls who are desperate to get a job. It is so hard to get that job. Most of the time, the people who are giving you those jobs are older men, and they know that you want the job, and there’s a million girls out there trying to get the job,' she said. She praised intimacy coaches and helplines but added that 'there’s too much opportunity for it to happen in this profession'.
Page cannot name the host for legal reasons. Her memoir Lush! goes on sale on Thursday, September 25.
