She’s one of Britain’s most outspoken broadcasters who has been an industry stalwart for decades.
But now Vanessa Feltz has revealed she didn’t have a voice or any input into her own talk show when it launched on ITV in the 1990s, due to sexist attitudes.
The presenter, 62, has claimed the only decision the broadcaster allowed her to make when Vanessa launched in 1994 was what colour she could paint her dressing room.
Feltz, who was the face and name of the programme, said that ‘men in suits chortled heartily and ignored me’ when she asked if she could be part of the decision-making processes.
She said she had no control over her own show and was called ‘pet’ and ‘sweetie’ by producers as well as being ‘literally patted on the head.’
Vanessa Feltz has revealed she didn’t have a voice or any input into her own talk show when it launched on ITV in the 1990s, due to sexist attitudes
The presenter has claimed the only decision the broadcaster allowed her to make when Vanessa launched in 1994 was what colour she could paint her dressing room
‘When I became the “British Oprah Winfrey” with the UK’s first US-style talk show, Vanessa, in 1994, I was given no say in my show’s content or in who joined the production team,’ she told Yours magazine.
‘I was, however, asked what colour I’d like my dressing room painted, called “pet” and “sweetie”, and literally patted on the head.’
She added: ‘When I said I wanted some input in the programmes being made in my name, the men in suits chortled heartily and ignored me.’
Feltz became a household name thanks to the show, which ran on the channel for four years, before she moved to the BBC to present the similar The Vanessa Show in a reported £2.7 million deal.
The show was only broadcast for a matter of months after being cancelled due to a scandal around the use of paid actors as guests.
She said that the #MeToo movement has meant women in the workplace are ‘gradually beginning to receive the professional respect we deserve and the chance to compete on an equal playing field with our male colleagues.
’But, she said, there is still ‘a hell of a long way to go’ in terms of gender equality in all industries, with the workplace still ‘rife with side-lined’ women.’
She said: ‘In the 42 years I’ve been clocking on and off, notable improvements have been made.‘Female bosses abound and no one is surprised to see women pilots, surgeons, hod-carriers or fire-fighters doing a bang-up job.‘
Feltz, who was the face and name of the programme, said that ‘men in suits chortled heartily and ignored me’ when she asked if she could be part of the decision-making processes
Feltz became a household name thanks to the show, which ran on the channel for four years, before she moved to the BBC to present the similar The Vanessa Show
That said, even in 2024 we struggle to be paid as much as men and the workplace is still rife with sidelined women whose potential has been thwarted by male bosses appointing senior staff in their own image.
She added: ‘I’d love to end on a high, but I wouldn’t be accurate or honest if I didn’t conclude that we still have a hell of a long way to go.’
Feltz, who split from long-term partner Ben Ofoedu last year amid claims of infidelity, currently works for LBC after stepping down from both her BBC Radio shows in 2022.
ITV has declined to comment.
Feltz is one of Britain’s most outspoken broadcasters who has been an industry stalwart for decades
