Dan Walker is due to appear at an employment tribunal over accusations of sexism, misogyny and bullying by his former Channel 5 co-anchor, reports claim.
The broadcaster, 49, will face his former Channel 5 News co-anchor Claudia-Liza Vanderpuije, 47, at a hearing in London that is expected to last four days, beginning from 20 April.
A spokesperson for ITN, the production company behind news for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, told The Independent that Walker denies the claims.
“This claim, which is denied in full, will be addressed through the tribunal process,” said the spokesperson.
The Independent has contacted representatives of Walker and Vanderpuije for comment.
A source told The Mail on Sunday that the Strictly Come Dancing star and ex-BBC Breakfast host “absolutely denies any sexism, misogyny, racism or bullying. It has been hanging over him for some years now.”
They continued: “He will be at London Central tribunal later this month. Nobody wants this but he will be there to tell the judge the truth.
“There will be tons of witness statements which will talk to Dan’s character. He has been absolutely stunned with the amount of people willing to support him. He has been stunned and actually very upset to be accused of such things.”
The accusations are levied against him by his former co-anchor Vanderpuije, who left Channel 5 in 2023 after five years. She spent only her final year presenting alongside Walker.
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This is not the first time that Walker has been at the centre of controversy. In 2024, he was hit by a “multi-pronged complaint”, leading network bosses to carry out an investigation.
Walker was cleared of any wrongdoing by the findings, with independent investigators citing “a lack of evidence to support allegations”.
At the time, a Channel 5 spokesperson said “none” of the claims had been upheld.
In a subsequent interview with The Telegraph, Walker said: “I haven’t really talked about it, but that was fully investigated and everything was completely incorrect and I was entirely vindicated by an independent inquiry.
“So yeah, that’s not nice, but you hold on to what you know the truth is and ultimately the truth is the important thing.”
Asked whether the process was hard for his family, Walker replied: “I think whenever you’re under scrutiny it’s difficult. It’s important that the industry is scrutinised, but it’s also important that we hold on to what is true and what is right.”
Walker joined the evening news at Channel 5 in 2022 after leaving his post at BBC Breakfast, where the toll of presenting a morning programme – that necessitates a 3am wakeup call everyday – was so great on his mental health that he would cry in the toilets in the studios behind the scenes.
“By Wednesday I was like, full zombie mode. And also you get really emotional,” he said on This Morning last month.
“End of the show, you are like, in the toilets just crying. Anything sets you off. Someone says something nice about your trousers and you are [crying].”
Walker has returned to morning hosting duties as presenter of Classic FM’s breakfast show.