Melanie Sykes says an unnamed ‘TV personality’ groped her breasts at the awards ceremony that made her feel ‘sick’ – but didn’t tell her husband for fear he would blame HER
Melanie Sykes has claimed she was groped at an awards show by an unnamed “TV personality” who grabbed her breasts as she celebrated winning a gong.
The TV presenter, 52, declined to name the well-known star but admitted his actions made her “sick” and ruined her evening.
Melanie reveals the incident in her new autobiography Illuminated: Autism & All The Things I’ve Left Unsaid, Thursday and said the assault happened at the Royal Society TV Awards, where her ITV show Today With Des and Mel received an award. .
Melanie said: ‘When we won it was bloody exciting, but after that when we got our shots done I kept getting updated by a TV personality, who wouldn’t leave me alone.
“He grabbed my breasts and was a complete nuisance. “I felt sick.”
Melanie Sykes has claimed she was groped at an awards show by an unnamed ‘TV personality’ who grabbed her breasts as she celebrated winning a gong
The TV presenter declined to name the well-known star, but admitted that his actions “made her sick” and ruined her evening
Melanie did not tell her then-husband, actor Daniel Caltagirone, about the horrific experience, fearing he would say it was her fault (pictured in 2009)
Melanie revealed that she confided in co-host Des, who died in 2020, about the groping shortly after, and the late TV veteran asked if there was anything he could do to support her.
But the presenter didn’t tell her husband, actor Daniel Caltagirone, at the time because the pair were in the middle of a bad spell and she feared he would say it was her fault, as he had previously accused her of “flirting” with guests on her talk show.
Melanie added: ‘My big night was spoiled by this and I couldn’t go home and confide in Daniel because I felt he would blame me.
“I couldn’t come home to celebrate either since Daniel was asleep, and I didn’t want to rub his nose in my success because his career wasn’t thriving the way he would have liked.”
Melanie was married to husband Daniel for eight years between 2001 and 2009 and the former couple share children Roman, 20, and Valentino, 18.
In 2009, two years after Melanie’s talk show with Des was cancelled, the star cited “distress” over Daniel’s “inability to appreciate their financial situation” as one of the reasons for their marriage breaking up.
The former Big Breakfast host married her second husband Jack Cockings in 2013 after they met on Twitter, but the pair only stayed together for eight months.
She had an assault charge against her dropped from the police files after Jack claimed she had been physical to him, with Melanie telling The Times years later that she is not a ‘violent person’.
Melanie said the incident happened at the Royal Society TV Awards after winning an award with her former co-host Des O’Connor (pictured in 2003) at the ceremony
Melanie revealed that she confided in Des, who died in 2020, about the groping shortly after, and asked the late TV veteran if there was anything he could do to support her.
On Thursday, Melanie admitted she felt “emotional” when her book Illuminated was finally published.
When she handwrote the piece, she said it was a “stream of consciousness” and it “flew out of her,” revealing that she completed the writing process in just nine days.
Melanie admitted that compiling Illuminated’s content had been a “healing” experience for her, and that she’s kept many of the details revealed in the text private until now, as she finally feels “done.”
Melanie announced that she had been diagnosed with autism in 2021, saying it had been “life-affirming” and that the book is a celebration of her realization.
