Katherine Ryan has claimed that female colleagues on a TV show were refused insurance because they were pregnant.
The comedian, 38, recently spoke about how she confronted a co-worker – who she didn’t name – as she believed he was a sex pest.
Appearing on Lorraine today, Katherine spoke about how being in the industry was a “constant state of vigilance and assessment” and that she hadn’t been trying to “name or out anyone”.
Host Lorraine Kelly said: “You did a brave thing and you talked about this on your show. Which was when you were talking to Sarah – Sarah Pascoe – you said that you had confronted a sexual predator in the industry. That was a massive problem.
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“Is that still a problem now? Do you still have men behaving that way?”
Katherine replied: “It’s difficult for me to gauge that because I have become more powerful and I think people around me behave really differently to how they used to because I might be a threat, certainly an adversary if they were to speak to me the way they used to.
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“But Backstage with Katherine Ryan is meant to give viewers an insight into what we really discuss. I wasn’t trying to name anyone or out anyone, it’s just that female comics, women in my industry have those discussions. It’s a constant state of vigilance and assessment – ‘Is this job safe for me to do?’ ‘Should I take that job knowing that I would be working with someone who I have heard from my peers is very dangerous?’
“‘Should I conceal my pregnancy on this job because I know the production can’t be insured if I reveal I’m pregnant?’ I was working on production where the female producers were trying to get insurance and the insurance company was saying, ‘No, we won’t insure pregnant women, go to your MP’.”
Stunned, Lorraine responded: “Gosh, I had no idea! It doesn’t make any sense.”
*Lorraine airs weekdays at 9am on ITV