Janet Street-Porter opens up about fear of 'career suicide' after not reporting assault

Known for having quite a hard shell and being very matter-of-fact Loose Women panellist Janet Street-Porter has spoken about her experience of sexual assault. She spoke on Loose Woman as the panel were discussing the "silent generation" of women who, due to society at the time, stayed silent about the abuse in the 1960s and 1970s.

Janet told the panel about how when she was working as a journalist in London, she was invited to a colleague's house before an event, believing there would be other people there. Instead, Janice was locked in the house as the man attempted to force himself on her.

Janet said: "When I got there he locked me in his flat and chased me round and threw himself on me...I hadn't expected it...at work you just had to laugh it off. I knew this guy for quite a few months before, probably a couple of years beforehand, and he was highly intelligent and I really respected him."

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After Janet returned home and never told her husband about what had happened. She said it would have been "career suicide" to have reported the man at the time.

Recently Janet revealed she was not scared of flying because she was in a plane crash and that she used to be scared of butter beans. Talking about her butter bean fear, Janet said that as an adult she got over that issue because she appeared on TV cooking shows and said: "Guess what they just just tasted normal."

Janet told Ruth, as well as fellow Loose Women Denise Welch and Kellie Bryant: "I'm not scared of flying, Ruth because I was in a plane crash. I was filming in Mexico and was in a four-seater CESSNA when the landing gear wouldn't come down.

"We had to fly around for four hours, using all the fuel in the wings. Wrote my will on a film carton, because my husband was a photographer, cut the engine out, glided in landed... tipped up."

Loose Women airs every weekday on ITV1 at 12.30pm. You can keep up to date with the latest TV and showbiz news by signing up to the newsletter here.

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