Rolf Harris groped us too, say Feltz and Nolan

Paedophile Rolf Harris sexually assaulted singer Linda Nolan and television presenter Vanessa Feltz, it has been claimed.
Vanessa Feltz claimed Harriss alleged assault happened on live TV. Picture: GettyVanessa Feltz claimed Harriss alleged assault happened on live TV. Picture: Getty
Vanessa Feltz claimed Harriss alleged assault happened on live TV. Picture: Getty

The two celebrities publicly revealed the alleged abuse after the disgraced Australian star, 84, was jailed for nearly six years for sex attacks on girls as young as seven.

He is expected to serve half of his sentence.

Feltz, 52, claims Harris inched up her leg and put his hand inside the elastic of her underwear in front of millions of viewers while she was interviewing him on The Big Breakfast. She claimed that Harris made his move while she was filming the On The Bed section of the show in May 1996 and while his wife Alwen was in the room.

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Feltz said she noticed “a rustling” at the hem of her dress and felt Harris’s hand creeping up her leg.

She said: “I was on live television so I could not look down but I sensed that his hand was at the bottom of my dress and he was slowly gathering the fabric up and moving his hand higher up my leg.

“He was carrying on talking as though nothing was going on, smiling and joking, as he moved his hand
further up.

“Suddenly his hand had reached my knee and he was still going up and travelling at speed. I was so shocked. This was Rolf Harris. I could clearly see his wife. How could this possibly be happening? But of course, as he knew perfectly well, I could not say anything.”

The TV star, who was married at the time, said she wanted to put her hand out to stop Harris, but she was live on TV and was terrified of doing something that would upset the millions of children watching the show.

She said: “Then I felt his hand on my thigh. He was inching higher. I was not wearing tights or stockings and I sensed nothing was going to stop him.

“After a few seconds he had managed to get his hand inside the elastic of my knickers and I was absolutely staggered.”

The star said she could not simply “stop and tell the viewers Rolf Harris is assaulting me” so she cut to an advert break and jumped away from Harris.

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She said she has no doubt the Australian got a thrill from carrying out the alleged attack live on air.

She told police about the ­alleged assault, but the judge at Harris’ criminal trial ruled the evidence could not be admitted because defence lawyers had not been given enough time to consider it.

Meanwhile, Nolan claimed she was aged 15 and on tour with her sisters when Harris groped her breasts in a corridor.

The star, now 55, said she was in a dressing gown and was on her way to get ready for a performance when the disgraced entertainer pounced on her backstage at the concert in South Africa in 1975.

She alleged: “He suddenly came out of nowhere and in seconds his hands were all over me.

“He came right up to me and got me in a huge bear hug. His arms were all over my back, right around me so his hands were touching the sides of my breasts.

“He rubbed up and down and started kissing and licking the back of my neck.”

Nolan said Harris eventually stopped, but she was left feeling “dumbstruck” and “humiliated” at the alleged attack.

Both women waived their legal right to anonymity to ­reveal the alleged abuse.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said police did not comment on the identity of alleged victims of sex assaults.

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