Judy Finnigan claims she was "groped" when she first started on TV.
The 66-year-old presenter has admitted a "very senior member of staff" once made an unwelcome pass at her at the beginning of her career, but said it was considered normal at the time because it was such a "promiscuous" industry.
She revealed: "When I was in my 20s I was groped by a very senior member of staff but it happened to all of us.
"If you were a young woman in television in those days, you were seen as fair game. It was a very promiscuous atmosphere – everybody was having affairs."
Although the TV personality – who is married to fellow presenter Richard Madeley – confessed she was a victim of the inappropriate behaviour, she said it was the differing treatment between her and Richard which made her more angry.
She explained: "Sexism in TV certainly was absolutely rampant.
"I don’t just mean sexual sexism, but stuff like we’d be doing ‘This Morning’ from Liverpool, say, and if something really dramatic happened in the world there would be a newsflash.
"The director would come through from the gallery and say, ‘ITN want to come to us in two minutes, so when I tell you, Richard, will you hand over to ITN.’ It was always Richard."
"I was furious because I was as much a journalist as him but they automatically thought the person to hand over to in a crisis was a man, So we had a few words."
Judy Finnigan ‘groped’ by senior TV staff in her 20s
