Aussie TV personality Don Burke reportedly ‘calls in lawyers’ over sexual harassment allegations

FORMER TV guru Don Burke has denied being a “psychotic bully” and “predator” after accusations by a string of women.

AUSTRALIAN TV star Don Burke has denied sexual harassment and bullying of women during his time as the star of Channel Nine’s iconic Burke’s Backyard.

A joint ABC/Fairfax investigation reports on allegations that Burke was a “psychotic bully”, a “misogynist” and a “sexual predator” who sexually harassed and bullied a number of female employees.

But Burke, 70, has issued a vigorous denial of the allegations, which he says came about because he was a perfectionist in relation to his work.

The claims reportedly come from more than 50 people who worked with Burke in the late 1980s and 1990s.

“He was a vile, vile human being,” Bridget Ninness, a former producer on Burke’s Backyard, told the ABC/Fairfax. “He was lewd and he was crude” and his constant talk of sex was “designed to confront you and to demean you”, she said.

She also alleged he once told her “if anything goes wrong on this trip I’m going to rip your f***ing head off, and s*** down your throat”, causing her to physically vomit.

Burke “absolutely” disputes claims of bullying.

Former chief executive of the Nine Network David Leckie claimed: “I’ve been trying to think of Harvey Weinstein-type people [in Australia] and the only one I can ever come up with is Burke. He was a horrible, horrible man.”

Burke is not accused of rape, as Weinstein is, but he is now denying a string of shocking allegations.

Don Burke has been a long-running fixture on Australian TV. Picture: Bradley Cooper

Louise Langdon has spoken out against Don Burke. Picture: ABC News

Louise Langdon, a weekend producer for Burke’s radio 2UE gardening show and later a Burke’s Backyard researcher, alleged the star kept up a “commentary about anything sexual” and persuaded her to watch a video of a woman having sex with a donkey.

She also alleged he flicked her bra straps, pushed his foot into her backside and said she hadn’t been working out, and lifted up her shirt to see the colour of her underwear.

On a work trip to the Northern Territory, he allegedly tried to take off her top. “I was sitting next to Don on the bus and he decided that it was OK for him to put his hands on my T-shirt and try and pull my bra strap, my bra off and try to somehow remove my clothing,” she told ABC/Fairfax. “He was trying to take my top off.”

Wendy Dent, who met Burke when she was 21 and performing as a fairy at the Melbourne Garden Show in 1995, said the star knelt in front of her and asked for a wish. She alleged he then opened his eyes and said: “It didn’t work. You’ve still got your clothes on.”

He later offered her an audition, but allegedly said she would have to be topless. Ms Dent said it put her off the “sleazy slummy industry” for good.

Another researcher alleged Burke said, as they stood on the rooftop at his Sydney production company: “You know what I love about cocktail parties? It’s the name tags. I get to grab women’s tits while pretending I can’t read their name.”

She alleged Burke then told her: “You’ve got small tits, no one would want to touch your tits.”

Burke has denied all the accusations, and said “the rooftop incident never occurred.”

A former Nine producer told the ABC/Fairfax of an alleged episode at a boat party at the start of the 1989 season. The producer, who had not been drinking, was asked by a publicity manager to escort an 18-year-old employee who had drunk too much back to her hotel.

The producer alleged they arrived to find the door ajar and Burke “sitting in the shadows” and said he spent an hour convincing the star to leave. The producer also claimed the star sent him a message the next day thanking him for “saving my bacon”.

But Burke denies the incident occurred.

One female TV writer alleged that when she first interviewed Burke at 21, he constantly made sexual comments such as, “I bet you’re a demon f***”. The second time she alleged he commented on her breasts, talked about which sexual positions she would enjoy and brought up the size of his “c**k”.

She said the last straw came in the third interview, when she alleges Burke told her he had bought a horse for a young relative “because I love watching her rub ... on its back.”

Burke told Fairfax Media and the ABC that the story was a “total fabrication”.

Burke’s famous Burke’s Backyard ended its 17-year run in 2004. Picture: Bradley Cooper

Wendy Dent said Burke told her she had to audition topless. Picture: Monica Schipper/Getty Images for The Hamptons International Film Festival

In a lengthy written response, Burke denied “absolutely” claims he was bully. He said that because he was a “perfectionist”, “a small number” of former employees were dismissed either for underperformance or misbehaviour. Some of these people “still bear a strong grudge against me”, he said.

He said he was “deeply hurt and outraged at the false and defamatory claims”, which would

“inevitably destroy his ability to perform his extensive charity work” and had already “led to some thousands of dollars of cancellations of appearances.”

Burke has allegedly called in a top defamation lawyer over the allegations. Patrick George — the author of the 2012 textbook Defamation Law in Australia — told Daily Mail Australia he was acting for Burke.

Burke is best known for the long-running Burke’s Backyard, which aired for 17 years until it was cancelled in 2004. Burke’s company, CTC Productions, also produced the hit show Backyard Blitz.

Burke has been a long-running fixture on the Australian media scene and still regularly appears on TV and radio to offer gardening advice.

Mr George has 35 years experience and is a senior partner at the law firm Kennedys Australia. The Kennedys website says he is “an expert in all areas of reputational risk and dispute resolution”.

Mr George has acted for former prime ministers, state premiers, celebrities, actors, models and sporting figures, according to the website.

Bill Shorten told ABC radio that if true, anyone within the media industry who knew about the “sickening” alleged actions of Burke and turned a blind eye should be condemned.

“It is sickening stuff, it is shocking stuff,” the federal Opposition leader told ABC radio this morning.

“Millions of Australians have watched this show on television and I think they will be shocked.

“I wonder if Australians thought when you had the Harvey Weinstein scandals emerging in Hollywood, did we think we were immune?

“Perhaps we hoped we were but clearly we were not.”

Mr Shorten hailed all victims of sexual harassment for coming forward.