Katherine Ryan says women in showbiz are forced to forever question how ‘safe’ they are on jobs

Katherine Ryan says woman in showbusiness are in a ‘constant state of vigilance’ over the behaviour of predatory men.

The comedian, 38, says female acts have to question whether a job is ‘safe’ and whether they should consider taking jobs if they have heard a male peer is ‘very dangerous’.

It comes after the Canadian star revealed that she once confronted a television colleague and accused him of being a ‘sex pest’.

Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine, she said: ‘It’s a constant state of vigilance – is this job safe for me to do?

‘Should I take that job knowing I’ll be working with someone who I’ve heard from my peers is very dangerous?’

Katherine Ryan (pictured) says woman in show-business are in a ‘constant state of vigilance’ over the behaviour of men

Last week she revealed in a talk with Sara Pascoe (pictured right), Ms Ryan (pictured left) revealed that she had once confronted a television colleague and accused him of being a sexual predator. She said she made the allegation in front of others working on a popular programme

The Canadian stand-up artist also that as she has become more successful she has had less problems with sex pests in her industry. 

But she said female comics were still speaking among themselves about predatory men in the business.

She made the comments as she was asked whether there was still a problem in the entertainment sector.

Last week she revealed in a talk with Sara Pascoe that she had once confronted a television colleague and accused him of being a sexual predator.

The television star – who has appeared on shows including Have I Got News For You, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Mock The Week and a League Of Their Own – said she made the allegation in front of others working on a popular programme.

She told her: ‘I raised it. I called him a predator to his face and in front of everyone every day.’

But she also said: ‘What am I supposed to do? It’s such a messy thing because I don’t have proof.

‘What, am I not supposed to feed my children because of someone else?’

Miss Pascoe, 41, said: ‘Have you ever done a job and then someone’s contacted you and said: ‘That’s my rapist?’

It sparked a guessing game online about who she was referring to in the remarks. 

Miss Pascoe replied: ‘Also in that instance that you’re referencing it was about raising it.’ 

Meanwhile, Miss Pascoe revealed that she had reported a male celebrity to a television channel after receiving a phone call from a viewer who claimed to have been raped by him.

Miss Pascoe, 41, said: ‘Have you ever done a job and then someone’s contacted you and said: ‘That’s my rapist’? I had it on a job recently where I’ve had to go to the channel, and it’s that whole thing because you feel such a sense of responsibility but you also want it to be dealt with well… it’s so complicated.’ ITV and Channel 4 declined to comment. The BBC declined to comment. Sky was also contacted.

Miss Ryan joins a long line of high-profile women who have made similar allegations against sexual predators. They include Gwyneth Paltrow and Cara Delevingne – who both shared their experiences of abuse by disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein. 

Since 2017, several high-profile British celebrities have been the subject of MeToo allegations. 

Last year Doctor Who star Noel Clarke was accused of groping, harassment and bullying after 20 women provided accounts of misconduct to the newspaper.

In April, ex-BBC Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood was accused of sexual misconduct by seven women in a joint investigation by BBC News and The Guardian. 

Separately, more than 10,000 current and former secondary school students in the UK have shared their experiences of sexual harassment and rape culture anonymously on the website Everyone’s Invited. 

Miss Ryan releases her series on Amazon today. In it, she interviews other comedians including Sue Perkins, Joel Dommett, Rob Beckett, Sarah Millican and Jimmy Carr.