Is this the moment darts player called The Boss ‘groped’ Helen on live TV?
BBC presenter Helen skelton was groped by a darts player live on air when she was four months pregnant, it has been claimed.
The 34-year- old told in an interview how she had been ‘grabbed’ on the bottom while presenting a sporting event in 2014 but had been too ‘intimidated’ to make a complaint.
she did not reveal who the offending sportsman was.
But it was yesterday claimed the man involved was scottish darts champion Ross Montgomery. However, he insisted it was just a ‘friendly slap’.
The incident occurred at the World Darts Championship in January 2015 at the end of an interview for BT sport.
The footage shows the mother- of-two with her arm around Mr Montgomery’s shoulder, when he appears to touch her bottom. The Countryfile presenter then moves away from him after glancing down at the offending hand.
Yesterday Mr Montgomery, 55, who is married with two children, admitted he had been ‘spoken to’ about the incident, but defended it as a ‘friendly slap’.
The sports star, nicknamed The Boss, said: ‘she wasn’t groped. It was nothing more than a friendly slap on the bottom. I was spoken to at the time. she was apologised to.’
speaking to the Daily Telegraph about the unspecified incident, Miss skelton said: ‘This guy grabbed me on the a*** when I was presenting live telly. I felt really awkward about it. I was pregnant at the time.’
she said she had not thought about complaining until a colleague from BBC 5 Live stepped in. ‘Colin Murray complained for me. He said it wasn’t acceptable,’ she said. ‘The man in question was punished’. A spokesman for Miss skelton would not confirm if the incident was the one she had referred to. she declined to comment further.