Paige: if a man puts his hand on your knee, girls, deal with it

ELAINE PAIGE, the singer and Radio 2 presenter, has encouraged young women to “just deal with it” if a man “puts his hand on your knee or your bum”, saying life would be dreary if they were discouraged from flirting.

Paige, 70, said she had “of course” been hit on by predatory men. But while rape and sexual assault are “completely unacceptable”, she said, other behaviour required “perspective”.

In an interview with The Mail on Sunday’s Event magazine, which made reference to the #Metoo movement, Paige also said she was “very hot” on equal pay and objected to being called a diva because it was “sexist”.

Asked if she had endured advances from “predatory males”, she said: “Of course I have! My God! I would be really embarrassed to sit here and say that it never happened to me.”

She added: “Listen, we’ve got to get all of this in perspective. Rape or any sort of assault is completely unacceptable. But come on, girls, if a man puts his hand on your knee or your bum, then deal with it.

“Are we really wanting to get to a stage when a man never flirts again? What a dreary life! In fact, I’m thinking of getting a badge made saying: #Cooee! I’m over here. It’s not too late.”

The broadcaster, who rose to fame in musical theatre with roles in Hair, Evita and Cats and now hosts Elaine Paige on Sunday on BBC Radio 2, said she was a firm believer in equal pay.

“Oh, I’m very hot on that,” she said. “If you’re doing the same job as a man, you should be paid the same. That Mr Humphrys on the Today programme made disparaging off-air remarks about his female colleagues’ pay and I found that absolutely appalling.”

Objecting strongly to being called a “diva”, she said: “I think the word is overused – and it’s sexist. No one ever called a man a diva.

“I’m also called feisty but I find that a bit sexist, too.”