19 July 2023 , 12:10
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Dan Wootton left the GB News studio smiling after addressing and denying allegations against him live on air.
The journalist, 40, admitted to making "errors of judgement in the past" and went on to deny allegations made against him when opening his show on Tuesday night.
Wootton also said he has "regrets" during his on-air statement, in which he claimed the criminal allegations being made against him are "simply untrue".
The former Entertainment Correspondent for Lorraine is accused of using a fake online persona to bribe several men into revealing compromising sexual material over at least a 10-year period – something he denies.
The GB News presenter appeared to be in good spirits following his on air statement on Tuesday (MJ-Pictures.com)Speaking to GB News viewers on Tuesday night, Wootton said within his opening monologue: "I, like all fallible humans, have made errors of judgement in the past, but the criminal allegations being made against me are simply untrue. I would like nothing more than to address these spurious allegations. I could spend the next two hours doing so but, on the advice of my lawyers I cannot comment further."
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After the broadcast finished, Wootton was seen leaving the GB News studios with a smile on his face. The former talkRADIO host, dressed in a black suit with a rucksack on his back, was pictured smirking at his phone before getting into a black cab.
On Monday July 17, as Wootton opened his GB News show after a holiday in his home country of New Zealand, Byline Times published a report featuring allegations made against the presenter. Representatives for The Sun, Wootton's former employer, and MailOnline, who Wootton currently writes a column for, say they are looking into allegations made against the journalist.
Wootton smiled as he checked his phone when leaving the GB News studio (MJ-Pictures.com)
The former ITV star denied allegations made against him while presenting his show on Tuesday (MJ-Pictures.com)In its initial report, the Byline Times alleges Wootton "hid behind fake online identities to trick and bribe scores of men into revealing compromising sexual material". The newspaper claims to have seen "extensive evidence" to prove that over a period of 10 years, Wootton posed as a fictitious showbiz agent called Martin Branning to offer sums of up to £30,000 "tax free" to his alleged targets.
The Mirror has spoken to one former colleague of Wootton who was in contact with a Martin Branning but we are yet to independently verify any link between Branning and Wootton. The Mirror presented the allegations made by the Bylines Times to GB News on Monday, who replied on Wednesday: "Dan commented on this extensively in his programme last night and we won’t be elaborating."
When asked if GB News will be investigating the claims, like The Sun and the Daily Mail, a spokesperson for the broadcaster had no further comment.
Wootton joined GB News in January 2021 and currently presents a daily show on the start-up station four nights a week. The New Zealand born journalist previously worked on ITV shows but left the broadcaster in 2019 after a decade working as a showbiz correspondent on Lorraine Kelly's daytime TV show.
Wootton appeared on Lorraine 10 years (MJ-Pictures.com)
He left ITV in 2019 after turning down a new contract (S Meddle/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)The GB News presenter claims he quit ITV after being offered a new contract by the broadcaster's top executives that included two conditions if Wootton wanted to continue appearing on ITV shows, which the journalist said earlier this year he "wasn't prepared to accept."
"First: Any form of reporting on the then developing Phillip Schofield scandal will get you immediately taken off air (he'd already tried to have me sacked multiple times, by this point)," Wootton wrote in his MailOnline column in May when recalling the contract he claims he was offered.
He continued: "Second: I would have to stop any negative commentary about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Again, that was a non-negotiable for me, given within two months I would break the story of Megxit and all the ramifications that followed for the Royal Family."
Wootton is credited with breaking the news Prince Harry and Meghan Markle planned to quit the Royal Family during his time working for The Sun before an official statement was released by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. He has since been a vocal critic of the former Suits actress and her husband.
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