Fallen TV star says he’s not a nice person
TV star Don Burke, his reputation in tatters over claims of sexual harassment and bullying, admitted last night he wasn’t a good person.
The former host of Burke’s Backyard told A Current Affair he had had multiple affairs and “there are things I have done that I’m not proud of”.
But in a often rambling interview with Nine’s Tracy Grimshaw, he continued to dismiss the worst of the sexual allegations, and to claim he was the victim of a witch hunt.
“Although I felt we did have a happy office, there are people who … clearly don’t like me. They can’t all be wrong.”
He said some of his staff might have come to the view “that I wasn’t a nice person”.
“Towards the end, I don’t think I was a very good person. Burke’s Backyard … coming to the end of its run.
“I mean, it didn’t seem to me at the time, but I must have been a bear with a bloody sore head.”
He acknowledged he had made enemies but rejected the bulk of the allegations put to him by Grimshaw. He blamed his behaviour on Asperger’s syndrome, which he claimed to have self-diagnosed.
“I’ve got a lot of failings but I am not that man,” Burke said.
At the peak of his success, concerns about the gardening guru’s behaviour were the talk of the Nine Network, allegedly prompting his bosses to keep a record of his offences.
A high-ranking Nine insider said the “Burke problem” was common knowledge. Also yesterday:
ACTOR and singer Tottie Goldsmith claimed Burke refused to stop using foul language around her daughter, 7.
VIDEO emerged of Burke saying he likes a good f... and asked a guest whether her breasts were real.
BURKE released a statement denying each allegation of inappropriate behaviour.
COMPANIES associated with Burke scrambled to distance themselves from his production business.
SEVERAL of Burke’s former colleagues listed a series of damaging allegations against him, including inappropriate jokes and harassment.