Charlotte Church recalls her ‘gross’ treatment as a teen singer and calls out Chris Moyles

Charlotte Church has recalled the ‘gross’ treatment she suffered as a famous singer after getting a record deal as an opera singer aged 12. 

Talking on the Sink The Pink Pop Tart podcast on Wednesday, mother-of-three, Charlotte, now aged 35, recalled: There was a countdown to me loosing my virginity.’

She said: ‘The Sun had done a countdown then Chris Moyles talked about it on Radio one. It was all a bit gross really.’

‘There was a countdown to me losing my virginity’: Charlotte Church has recalled her ‘gross’ treatment as a teen singer and called out Chris Moyles who offered to sleep with her after she turned 16 (pictured on her 16th birthday in 2002) 

‘We’ve come a certain way but there’s a long way to go in terms of feminism and equality but there’s bigots everywhere and hopefully we can heal them all. Maybe some of them will just have to die out.’ 

In 2002, Chris, now aged 47, claimed on-air that he would take the virginity of Charlotte when she reached 16. He was aged 28 when he made the remark.  

He told listeners on his afternoon show that he wanted to ‘lead her through the forest of sexuality now that she had reached 16’. 

The BBC claimed at the time the comments made in February were an example of the DJ’s cheeky humour. 

Unacceptable: Chris (pictured aged 28 in 2002) told listeners that he wanted to 'lead [Charlotte] through the forest of sexuality now that she had reached 16' - the BBC claimed the comments were 'an example of the DJ's cheeky humour'

Unacceptable: Chris (pictured aged 28 in 2002) told listeners that he wanted to ‘lead [Charlotte] through the forest of sexuality now that she had reached 16’ – the BBC claimed the comments were ‘an example of the DJ’s cheeky humour’

MailOnline has contacted the BBC press office to see if they would like to update their stance 19 years on.  

At the time, the Broadcasting Standards Commission upheld the complaint of a listener who said Moyles’ remarks were inappropriate.

The BSC Standards Panel said it noted Moyles was well known for his near-the-knuckle approach ‘but took the view that the explicit sexual content and humour had exceeded acceptable boundaries for the time of transmission’.

It was not the first time that the controversial DJ had fallen foul of the broadcasting watchdog. 

Chris was found to have ‘exceeded acceptable boundaries’ by making offensive comments about an actor’s wife on his Radio 1 show in 2000.

In his previous job at Capital Radio the BSC upheld a complaint about his ‘aggressive and sexually suggestive’ comments to a young female caller.

Congratulations: Charlotte on the Sink The Pink Pop Tart podcast on Wednesday

Congratulations: During her latest interview, Charlotte showed off her baby daughter for the first time who was dressed in a fluffy pink romper suit 

In January 2010, when Moyles was earning £500k a year, he made reference to the gay singer Will Young’s birthday by singing Young’s first hit, Evergreen, in an ­effeminate voice.

He mocked: ‘It’s my birthday today, gonna wear my new dress tonight. And I smell nice. I’ve had a shower and I’ve shaved my legs.’

He then gave a rendition of Young’s hit Leave Right Now: ‘When you saw me years ago you didn’t know, but now I’m the gayest fella you probably know. Mmm, I like to wear a silly hat, I get camper by the hour.’

Will told The Times in August ‘It still makes me feel sad in a way, because it did affect how important I felt my sexuality was, and because I didn’t stand up for myself.

Special news: Charlotte's baby is with husband Jonathan Powell, (pictured together in 2015)

Special news: Charlotte’s baby is with husband Jonathan Powell, (pictured together in 2015)

‘So even though I was like, ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter’, it did, actually. It was really bad. Really bad.’

In 2006, Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry appeared on his show.

The American clashed with him after he impersonated what he described as a ‘big, fat, black guy from Brooklyn’.

An unimpressed Berry asked Moyles: ‘Are we having a racist moment here?’

That same year, he was censured by Ofcom after referring to some women listeners as ‘dirty wh***s’. 

Charlotte said: 'We’ve come a certain way but there’s a long way to go in terms of feminism and equality but there’s bigots everywhere and hopefully we can heal them all. Maybe some of them will just have to die out' (Chris pictured)

Charlotte said: ‘We’ve come a certain way but there’s a long way to go in terms of feminism and equality but there’s bigots everywhere and hopefully we can heal them all. Maybe some of them will just have to die out’ (Chris pictured)

Charlotte called out Chris while showing off her new baby daughter for the first time. 

The former child star has daughter Ruby, 12, and son Dexter, 11, with her ex-partner, former Wales rugby player Gavin Henson, 39, and raises the family’s new addition with her husband musician Johnny Powell. 

Charlotte announced she was pregnant to fans in a low-key tweet in March revealing she was pulling out of a charity concert because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

And Holly Willoughby appeared to break the news that Charlotte had given birth as she said during an interview earlier that day when she said: ‘You’ve got three kids now!’ 

Speaking out: Will Young said he was 'aghast' when Chris Moyles conducted a 'rampage of homophobia' against him while he was a Radio 1 DJ

Speaking out: Will Young said he was ‘aghast’ when Chris Moyles conducted a ‘rampage of homophobia’ against him while he was a Radio 1 DJ