Builders ‘objectified’ by Jean Queen as hot tradies, says their boss
A WEALTHY jeans boss who was sued over a £250,000 builders’ bill has been accused of objectifying the tradesmen who worked for her.
Donna Ida Thornton, whose £200 jeans have been worn by celebrities including Jodie Kidd, is embroiled in a bitter dispute with Keith Elliott after he stopped working on her country manor in south Devon.
The builder was one of many contractors employed by the denim designer, 50, to restore her 16-bedroom, Grade II-listed Langdon Court and turn it into a boutique hotel.
He told the Mail the job was a ‘farce from start to finish’ and claimed she regularly took photos of the workmen with their tops off, made sug
‘Unprofessional and inappropriate’
gestive comments, and even hosted a ‘Hot Tradies’ drinks gathering.
Mr Elliott said: ‘It was very, very awkward. Some found it funny but it made others feel very uncomfortable.
‘Donna could be unprofessional and highly inappropriate, she would argue that it was just harmless fun but, reverse the roles, and have her husband Robert doing the same to a group of women and it’s not quite as acceptable.’
Mr Elliott told the Mail that she had an 18-year-old workman running errands for her, including picking her up from a nail salon, while his colleagues were photographed modelling her denim and the pictures uploaded on to her website.
Photos on her Instagram account show a tradesman called Barry, with a caption asking whether he should remain topless. In another picture she posted of a ‘tradie’, she wrote: ‘35 sexual innuendos later Maxy downed tools…’ She later posted a photo of an evening at which she laid on food and drink with the words: ‘Anything for the hottest tradies in hot tradie land.’
On another occasion, Ms Thornton boasted: ‘Having drinks for the Hot Tradies this afternoon. Blatantly trying to get them drunk.’
Ms Thornton and her husband, restaurateur Robert Walton, 67, sacked Mr Elliott in December 2022 after falling out over his pricing. An adjudicator found in his favour in January, ruling that she must pay him £236,000.
Last week he took her to the High Court, claiming he has yet to receive a penny. Her counter claim for a similar sum was thrown out but she has served him with a ban and bar letter to prevent him setting foot on her estate.
Mr Elliott, 42, added: ‘It was the most bizarre and unprofessional project we have ever been involved in.’ Ms Thornton declined to comment.