Sandi Toksvig: 'I was groped while I was on the air'

David Cameron urges BBC to launch full inquiry after yet more claims of abuse

The growing scandal surrounding sexual abuse in broadcasting in the 1980s showed no sign of abating yesterday as the comedian and BBC presenter Sandi Toksvig recounted how she was groped while on air and David Cameron urged the BBC to hold a full inquiry into the Jimmy Savile affair.

Toksvig, 54, told The Andrew Marr Show yesterday that she was "unpleasantly groped while I was broadcasting by a famous individual who shall remain nameless" in the 1980s.

At the time Toksvig worked mainly on ITV and Channel 4 but she did not say where the incident took place.

"When I told the staff afterwards what had happened everybody thought it was amusing. There was a shrugged-shoulder approach to the whole thing. It wasn't something anybody talked about," she added.

Speaking on the same programme, Prime Minister David Cameron added his voice to calls for the BBC to hold a full inquiry into allegations of abuse following claims last week that the children's presenter Jimmy Savile regularly sexually abused young fans. More than 40 people have now come forward to say they were abused by the presenter.

"If there are questions that should be pursued by the police and other organisations, everyone has to ask themselves the question, is there new evidence that needs to be looked at?" Mr Cameron said.

Toksvig's allegations follow claims by the BBC radio DJ Liz Kershaw that she was "routinely groped" during her time at Radio 1 in the 1980s.

Kershaw, 54, has also declined to name her abuser in public. But she said yesterday that she would meet with the BBC's new director-general, George Entwistle, and name male celebrities who she claims had sex with Radio 1 and Top of the Pops fans.

The BBC said it was "shocked" by Kershaw's allegation and encouraged "anyone with information on such issues to also speak to the police".

Trustees of the Jimmy Savile Charitable Trust and Jimmy Savile Stoke Mandeville Hospital Charitable Trust said they were considering changing their names and donating funds to organisations that help the victims of abuse.

The Metropolitan Police said last week it would be assessing allegations against Sir Jimmy but had not as yet launched an investigation.