Natasha Kaplinsky has claimed that Sacha Baron Cohen was put on ‘gardening leave’ from her first TV job after a guest of his took their clothes off.
The English journalist, 51, worked with Sacha in 1996 on Granada Talk TV‘s short-lived youth chat show series F2F.
But she claimed that the actor was placed on ‘gardening leave’ after the actions of a guest he had booked for the show.
Natasha claimed, in a self-written piece for The Times, that Sacha’s guest called Kenny Slide had taken his clothes off in front of the whole audience – which was filled with children.
‘I was essentially his stooge,’ Natasha said of her working relationship with Sacha. ‘One time a guest he’d booked, someone called Kenny Slide, took his clothes off in front of an audience full of children.’
Natasha Kaplinsky (pictured in February 2023) has claimed in The Times that Sacha Baron Cohen was put on ‘gardening leave’ from her first TV job after a guest of his took their clothes off
The English journalist, 51, worked with Sacha in 1996 on Granada Talk TV ‘s short-lived youth chat show series F2F
‘Sacha swiftly got put on gardening leave as a result,’ she added.
MailOnline has contacted representatives for Natasha and Sacha for comment.
It comes after Sacha, 52, and his actress wife Isla Fisher announced in April that they had quietly separated last year.
The couple first met in 2001 and tied the knot in 2010. They are parents to three children.
Insiders claim the marriage had been ‘shaky’ for years, with Sacha reportedly struggling after making the ‘sacrifice’ to relocate their family to Australia in 2020.
They moved from Los Angeles to Sydney, then on to Perth — where Isla’s family live — in September 2021, to escape Sydney’s strict Covid lockdown rules.
It is thought Sacha will keep a house in Los Angeles for work.
The split announcement came shortly after actress Rebel Wilson made claims about Sacha in her memoir, Rebel Rising, which he has denied.
Rebel hit the headlines after she made several claims against her former Grimsby co-star Sacha, accusing him of inappropriate on set behaviour.
But Natasha claimed that the actor was placed on ‘gardening leave’ after the actions of a guest he had booked for the show
Natasha claimed, in a self-written piece for The Times , that Sacha’s guest called Kenny Slide had taken his clothes off in front of the whole audience – which was filled with children
‘I was essentially his stooge,’ Natasha (pictured in May 2022) said of her working relationship with Sacha
In the book Rebel Rising, the actress wrote she ‘rues the day’ she met the actor, who she had described as her ‘idol’, first meeting at a dinner party hosted by Little Britain star Matt Lucas.
A year later Sacha offered her a role in 2016 film Grimsby as Dawn, the wife of his character Nobby.
Ahead of her memoir’s release, Rebel named Sacha as the celebrity responsible for making legal threats over the book after which his representatives hit back.
Taking to Instagram to confirm the identity, she wrote: ‘I will not be silenced by high priced lawyers or PR crisis managers. The a****** I am talking about in ONE CHAPTER of my book is: Sacha Baron Cohen.’
In the wake of her statement, Sacha spoke out to TMZ via representatives, saying: ‘While we appreciate the importance of speaking out, these demonstrably false claims are directly contradicted by extensive detailed evidence…
‘[With] contemporaneous documents, film footage, and eyewitness accounts from those present before, during and after the production of The Brothers Grimsby.’
Sacha is believed to be in the process of buying a London house of his own and a friend said: ‘It’s all about the kids and what is best for them’ (pictured with Sacha)
The book was published in the US last month, and featured a chapter titled Sacha Baron Cohen And Other A**holes, where Rebel makes the claims about his alleged behaviour during the filming of Grimsby – which are vehemently denied by Sacha.
However the UK copies feature the wording crudely blacked out due to what Rebel branded ‘peculiarities’ of English law.
Isla has refused to comment on Rebel’s claims against her estranged husband.
Isla has refused to comment on Rebel Wilson’s claims against her estranged husband after she accused him of inappropriate on set behaviour (pictured in 2016’s Grimsby)