It all began with the Daily Mail’s exclusive serialisation of Ulrika Jonsson’s autobiography, in which the TV presenter revealed she had been raped by another TV presenter, whom she refused to name, in 1988.
There followed a surge of media speculation as to who the alleged rapist was. Jonsson made it clear she would not name him and did not intend to report him to the police. But then in a Channel 5 news review programme, the name of the alleged rapist was accidentally revealed. An apology was broadcast at the end of the programme on the basis that the publication had been in error. What followed was an interesting division of attitude by Fleet Street on the risks involved.
