Former television personality Don Burke has spoken publicly for the first time in eight years, following allegations of sexual misconduct and bullying during his career.
The 78-year-old, who hosted the popular lifestyle program Burke’s Backyard from 1987 to 2004, fell from grace in 2017 after a joint ABC and Fairfax Media investigation reported accusations from more than 50 people.
Those who came forward included TV personalities, journalists and former colleagues, such as Kerri-Anne Kennerley, Caroline Wilson, Susie O’Neill, and Burke’s Backyard staffers Bridget Ninness and Louise Langdon.
Burke has consistently denied all allegations, defending himself in a 2017 interview with A Current Affair host Tracy Grimshaw.
However, the interview failed to repair his public image, and he largely withdrew from the media amid the rise of the #MeToo movement.
In a new interview with Daily Mail Australia, Burke claimed his “cancellation” was driven by long-standing enemies in the media industry.
“It was people in the media who hated my guts and ganged up against me,” he told the publication.
“Most of it was media. TV is dying, newspapers are dying, and [they] were forced to go out and find the most horrible stuff of all time that they could.”
Following the Sydney Morning Herald exposé, Burke was sued by former producer Bridget Ninness, who accused him of “psychological abuse” and called him a “vile, vile human being.”
“It all came to nothing,” Burke told journalist Peter Sutton, adding that he “would have won a defamation case had he pursued it.”
Burke was later sued for defamation himself by Wendy Dent, a former children’s entertainer who alleged he asked her to audition topless for Burke’s Backyard in the 1990s.
Dent argued Burke’s denial of the claims during his A Current Affair interview implied she was lying and part of a “witch hunt.”
Justice David Mossop of the ACT Supreme Court ruled that while Burke’s comments could be considered defamatory when taken alone, they were not when read in full context.
Now living a quieter life at his Kenthurst property in Sydney’s north-west, Burke breeds budgerigars and continues to post videos to YouTube under the Burke’s Backyard name.
He also recently released a book, Budgerigars: The Colour Revolution.
Reflecting on the scandal that ended his television career, Burke said:
“I never let it get to me.”
Image: Youtube/ Burke’s Backyard
