Burke’s Backyard presenter says he is ‘deeply hurt and outraged’ by claims from several women he harassed, bullied and assaulted them

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Numerous women have accused Don Burke of indecent assault, sexual harassment and bullying during the 1980s and 1990s, when he starred in the top-rating gardening show Burke’s Backyard.

Burke, who hosted the show for almost 17 years, has strenuously denied the allegations, saying he is “deeply hurt and outraged”. In a statement released on Sunday, he said the claims were baseless.

“The bitter irony is that I have had a life-long opposition to sexism and misogyny,” his statement said. “Burke’s Backyard was a lone bastion of anti-misogyny from its inception in 1987.”

The ABC and Fairfax Media reported multiple allegations against Burke, including claims by two former TV researchers that Burke groped their breasts, and from a young actor who said Burke told her she would have to audition topless for an appearance on his show.

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One researcher, Louise Langdon, who worked with Burke in the 1980s, said he had encouraged her to watch a video he had which showed bestiality, and had indecently assaulted her on numerous occasions.

“It was things like pulling at my bra strap, flicking a bra strap … pulling up my shirt to see what colour underwear I was wearing,” she said.

Langdon said she complained to senior producers at Burke’s Backyard about his general behaviour but nothing was done.

“The reason given that they couldn’t do anything about the behaviour was that my job was expendable and Don’s wasn’t,” she was reported as saying. “Don was a ratings juggernaut, he was a ratings success, he was bringing a lot of money for the network and that if I wasn’t able to tolerate the behaviour, then they would find somebody who would.”

Several former Channel Nine executives who held the most senior roles when Burke’s show aired on the network described him in highly unflattering terms, according to the ABC and Fairfax reports.

None of the allegations are about behaviour more serious than indecent assault.

Peter Meakin, Nine’s former director for news and current affairs, said Burke had a reputation for demanding behaviour but he had never received any official complaints about him.

Bridget Ninness, a producer on Burke’s show for seven years, called him “a vile human being”. She said she had complained to Meakin, who was in charge of lifestyle programming, about being bullied by Burke when he threatened her before their first overseas trip for the show, according to the ABC report.

“Don pulled me aside and he said, ‘I’m just going to tell you that if anything goes wrong on this trip I’m going to rip your fucking head off, and shit down your throat.’ So — and I actually vomited, I was actually so nervous that I vomited,” Ninness was reported as saying.

In his statement, Burke denied claims of bullying. Meakin told the ABC he could not remember that incident.