Helen Skelton says she was groped on live TV while pregnant: ‘It’s what television breeds'

The Countryfile host admitted that she felt “really awkward” about the “intimidating” encounter and “didn’t know what to do”.

The 34-year-old commented: “Basically, this guy grabbed me on the a*** when I was presenting live telly.

“I felt really awkward about it. I was pregnant as well. I didn’t know what to do.

“It’s intimidating and you don’t want to be the person who is being difficult and awkward.”

The mother-of-two, who is married to Richie Myler, added: “That’s just the culture that television breeds.

“You want to bring solutions, not problems. We are all ‘Happy, happy’.”

Helen refused to name the culprit who allegedly groped her and refrained from saying when exactly it had happened, but said that her fellow presenter Colin Murray reported him.

She told The Telegraph: “He kicked off and said that needs dealing with. It was handled brilliantly because of that. I’d never thought about complaining.”

Helen, who has also hosted BBC’s 2016 Rio Olympic Games coverage, and has worked on Newsround, Blue Peter and Lorraine, said the person was “punished” and insisted she has drawn a line under the incident.

In the candid interview, the blonde also discussed the BBC gender pay gap and admitted that she “wasn’t happy” with what she has been paid.

Last October, a report into BBC salaries found men were being paid on average 9.3 per cent more than women, which director general Tony Hall promised to sort it out by 2020.

The TV star admitted that she found some figures on the list shocking.

“Those figures make me feel sick,” she quipped.

“I started on Blue Peter with a £24,000 salary for a 365-day contract. I would have been better off working in the supermarket.”

Helen will be taking part in Celebrity Boxing for Sport Relief in which she will fight against Love Island star Camilla Thurlow.

The show will air on March 23 at 7pm on BBC.