Lucy Beaumont claims there are 10 male predators in the comedy circuit

Speaking on The Comedian's Comedian Podcast with Stuart Goldsmith in July, writer and comic Lucy Beaumont slammed predatory men when asked by host Goldsmith what has "held her back" on the comedy circuit. The 40-year old said names would be out there "soon".

"Predatory male behaviour," she began. "I've had quite a few incidences where if you're in any other workforce you would go to HR [Human Resources], but there isn't one. I think it's just everywhere and it's not talked about enough. It upsets me when I hear about young female comics having the same experiences. I thought for a while it was the same five or six people - and now it's not - I could name you 10 or 15 because of course people talk."

Lucy, who is married to fellow comedian Jon Richardson, continued: "Comedy has the biggest gossips ever so everybody knows - or if you don't know the ones I know yet then you will do soon. It [comedy] attracts such interesting, passionate, raw, edgy, wounded people - but it also attracts predatory men who are really messed up and sexually have been repressed for years. And they get a bit of fame and display these behaviours.

"It just gets covered up. Their agents know and the channels know and nobody seems to be doing anything about it. There's been times when I've just wanted to go on Twitter and just let people know everyone that we talk about, but not allowed to say."