Emily Clarkson: Lorraine star speaks out after being catcalled in London park while pushing her buggy

The daughter of TV star Jeremy Clarkson called the experience “angry, scared and humiliating,” and warned that street harassment is part of a wider “epidemic of violence against women and girls.”

The ITV Lorraine contributor shared an emotional video on social media shortly after the incident, where she recalled being harassed twice on her way to and inside the park.

“I'm in the park with my five-month-old baby and on my way here, three men leant out of their van to shout at me, to jeer at me and my friend,” she said. “And as I arrived in the park by myself, just me and my baby, a man stood up off a bench and he started following me down the path, telling me how gorgeous I was.”

Despite asking him to stop, “Please stop, I'm with my baby”, the man continued. Clarkson said the experience brought on a swirl of emotions, shaped by years of societal messaging. “There's a part of my brain that's like, ‘Shut up, Em, he's complimenting you because you'll miss it when it's gone’… That catcalls are just compliments, stop overreacting.”

But she forcefully rejected that framing: “A catcall isn't a compliment, a catcall is a threat, and we all f***ing know that. It's a display of dominance, of power, of entitlement, and a reminder to me of my vulnerability. We are living in an epidemic of violence against women and girls… It scared the s*** out of me.”

But Clarkson also highlighted the backlash she received. In a follow-up video titled “So that’s on victim blaming I guess,” she addressed messages suggesting she should dress more modestly or take responsibility for the harassment.

“I knew that fact that I was angry and scared and humiliated wouldn't matter... I'd been asking for it… It was my body that made this crime inevitable,” she said.

Reading out one such message, Clarkson recounted how someone told her: “Men can't control their lust… I, as a woman, should shoulder this responsibility.” sClarkson refuted that mindset: “Never mind that we associate traits like self-control and discipline with masculinity… Men just can't control themselves?”

She ended her video by citing stark statistics about violence against women in the UK: “Men have to kill a woman every three days in the UK. Men need to sexually harass 97 percent of women in the UK aged between 18 and 24. Men have to rape one in four of us, that's just common sense, she said.”

The second video prompted an outpouring of support from followers and public figures. One user commented: “We are SO FORTUNATE to have women like you who can eloquently, calmly and considerately put the facts across on their public platforms. I am so grateful to you for shouldering this on behalf of women and girls everywhere.”

Another added: “Man you’re good. 👏” while others wrote: “Absolutely adore you!” and “Using the term ‘men struggle’ like it’s a condition has enraged me.”