Sue Perkins revealed she was the victim of a homophobic attack in Hampstead Heath, in London, that left her in tears.
Speaking candidly about the incident in an appearance in the Homo Sapiens podcast on Thursday, the former Great British Bake Off host, 51, claimed she was called a ‘f***ing d**e’ by a man while taking her dog for a walk.
Detailing what happened, she said: ‘I did have my first homophobic insult in 20 years recently, and I thought, “Oh, I wonder if that’s coming back?” I was on the heath and this guy, I think he said, ‘You f***ing d**e.’
Horrifying: Sue Perkins revealed on Thursday she was left in tears after being called a ‘f***ing d**e’ by a man in a vile homophobic attack while taking her dog for a walk
‘You know when something bad happens and on the bus on the way home you think of all the brilliant things you should have said in that moment I had that very profoundly.
‘At the time, I sort of went right up to him and went,”What did you say?” And he sort of postured a bit almost as if he was going to hit me, almost like a intimation of something physical.
‘I just thought I’m going to stand here. And, very calmly, I went, “What did you say?” I remember my hand was out because I wanted to keep that distance, like if you come within the length of my arm I know that something really bad is going to happen.’
Incident: Sue, who has been dating Anna Richardson since 2014, said she approached the man after he shouted the slur to ask him what he said, but feared he ‘was going to hit’ her
Of the man’s reaction, Sue, who has been dating Anna Richardson since 2014, went on: ‘He just sort of buckled a bit and he went, “I just mean you’ve got a nice face, why would you…” I just thought, “What’s my face got to do with you?”
‘I just said, “I’m just walking my dog and I’m quiet and I’m in a good mood and I’ve got love for everyone here and you’ve destroyed that and you can’t take that back today.” And I went off and I burst into tears. It was so shocking and so unusual.
‘It had been decades. It was on Hampstead Heath and he was sort of loitering by the gents loos. At the time I thought, “Oh, that’s back again.”‘
Struggle: Saying it was the first time she’d been subjected to homophobic abuse, she added: ‘I went off and I burst into tears. It was so shocking and so unusual’ (pictured with Mel Giedroyc)
Of her past experiences of homophobia, she added: ‘That was the first time ever, when I was growing up it was just mutterings, it was all quiet, and a cultural thing of that’s just not quite right.
‘It’s interesting what you do in the moment, and I felt very threatened by him, but it was more homophobia aside, it was more an indicator of what I did in an aggressive situation, I thought I might have to re-calibrate that, I don’t necessarily want to walk towards angry people again.’
In May, Sue’s girlfriend Anna claimed she was interested in fostering or adopting a child, and told Hello! magazine that as she is getting older she also feels that ‘time is running out’ for her to do so.
Admitting she was only talking about herself, Anna said: ‘For some time I’ve toyed with the idea of fostering or adopting a child.
‘I can only speak for myself, not Sue [Perkins], but I really want to do the training [to foster] and welcome a child into my life.
‘I feel keenly that I’m getting older, that time is running out.’
Candid: Of her past experiences of homophobia, Sue (pictured with Anna in 2018) added: ‘That was the first time ever, when I was growing up it was just mutterings, it was all quiet’