The Daily Telegraph

Allsopp: politicall­y correct execs told me to tone it down

Presenter says she was issued edict telling her ‘darling’ could be a term of sexual harassment

- By Steve Bird

A PROPERTY guru and queen of all things craft, Kirstie Allsopp has also been no stranger to controvers­y thanks to her habit of speaking her mind.

And the 46-year-old presenter of Location, Location, Location has now revealed how bosses at a production company issued her with an “edict” demanding she tone things down for today’s more politicall­y correct audience.

The mother of two says she was told that some of her more challengin­g words and phrases could even be seen as bordering on sexual harassment.

In an interview, she said bosses at a production company issued her with a proclamati­on that triggered a stark response about her thoughts on modernday attitudes.

Referring to the edict from executives at the unnamed company, she said: “It said that use of affectiona­te terms such as ‘darling’ constitute sexual harassment. I said, ‘This is ridiculous.’ It’s belittling an incredibly important document about disability language, sexist language and racist language. That’s what frustrates me about this whole debate.”

However, she agreed that some of her earlier flirting and knowing asides to camera with her co-host, Phil Spencer on Location, Location, Location would simply be unacceptab­le for today. Allsopp and Spencer, 48, both referred to “silly jokes” they shared on screen. In one such incident they recalled him joking about looking up her skirt as she ascended a ladder.

Referring to the allegation­s made against

‘Phil making a silly comment about looking up my skirt is not [bullying]’

film mogul Harvey Weinstein, she said people should know the difference between idle banter and sexual harassment and bullying.

“It’s really important that anyone who has been in a compromisi­ng situation in the workplace where they feel unhappy and bullied should be able to stick their hand up,” she told The Times.

“Phil making a silly comment about looking up my skirt is not that. There is a difference and we all need to know the difference. Funny as it would be seeing Phil hauled up, it’d never happen. I have never come across a man more respectful of women.”

Although she claimed some shows had been re-edited to remove jokes for today’s more sensitive audience, Channel 4 denied that any had been cut.

Allsopp, the daughter of the 6th Baron Hindlip and so entitled to call herself the Honourable Kirstie Allsopp, is no stranger to controvers­y.

Earlier this year, she was “attacked and mocked” on Twitter after she declared that having a washing machine in the kitchen was “disgusting”. Instead, she said such contraptio­ns should be consigned to the “tiny laundry room”, bathroom, hall or airing cupboard.

In 2014, she caused controvers­y after she told The Daily Telegraph that if she had a daughter she would tell her to shun university and instead buy a flat, find a boyfriend and have a baby by the age of 27.

 ??  ?? Kirstie Allsopp, and inset with Phil Spencer, her Location, Location, Location co-star, has revealed a production company warned her about innuendo
Kirstie Allsopp, and inset with Phil Spencer, her Location, Location, Location co-star, has revealed a production company warned her about innuendo
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