Ruth Langsford has revealed she once threatened to break a man’s arm after experiencing on-set sexual harassment earlier in her career.
The This Morning presenter told Kate Thornton on her White Wine Question Time podcast that she hit back at one crew member years ago, who “pinched her bum” in front of a group of colleagues.
Recalling the incident, Ruth explained: “I remember years ago when I had to take these big trays of tea around at certain times in the day for the VT engineers. It was all men.
“We had a little kitchenette and for some reason [giving out tea] was deemed to be my job as a woman.”
Ruth continued: “I remember taking this tray round and a guy pinched my ass.
“I put the tray down, I slapped his tea down, and said: ‘If you ever touch me again, I’ll break your fucking arm.’”
Discussing sexism in the workplace more generally, Ruth also spoke of her disdain for the word “bossy”, pointing out that it isn’t a label that’s usually ever applied to men.
“I mean, if you were a guy and the editor of a magazine, they’d go ‘he’s so dynamic and young and amazing’,” Ruth told the host.
“Why is it like, ‘she’s really bossy and annoying’? I think women have had to fight that and to some extent, still do. It will keep changing.”
Ruth is best known for presenting This Morning alongside her husband, Eamonn Holmes, but also makes regular appearances as an anchor on Loose Women.
Listen to her interview in full on the podcast White Wine Question Time.