Reality star and model Bianca Gascoigne is the latest woman to accuse the late Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed of sexual assault.
The model, 37 – daughter of ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne – recalled the harrowing details of the alleged assault to Sky News which left her ’embarrassed and shamed’ to speak out earlier.
Gascoigne explained that during her time at Harrods, Al Fayed disparaged her father, called him an ’embarrassment’ and told her to look to him as a ‘father figure’.
She continued: ‘I just felt a false sense of security with him early doors, because I used to go into the store with my mum and dad, and he used to come over, be very charming, bring us gifts, very personable.’
She explained that she felt ‘safe’ in the former business magnate and Fulham FC owner’s presence and didn’t think twice about staying at his Harrod Park Lane apartment ahead of a work flight when she was just 16.
‘He turned up at the apartment, to my shock. I just couldn’t believe it,’ she recounted to the broadcaster.
‘I was just gobsmacked. I was kind of very shell-shocked, that I just didn’t really know what to do.
‘He came in, and then he sat me down on the sofa and was obviously very forceful with the touching and the kissing.
‘He got his private out and got my hand and was trying to manoeuvre it on his parts, and when that didn’t work, he was trying to force my head on his lap.
‘I don’t know how but I managed to wiggle away.’
Gascoigne speculated that him ‘knowing her parents’ might have ‘saved her’ at the time.
‘Obviously, I loved my job, because it was exactly what I wanted to do – that was my dream.
‘He was doing all these things to me and I was close to people that he knew, and I felt like I couldn’t even tell them either because I didn’t want to bring embarrassment and shame.’
She recalled alleged threats to ‘lose her job’ if she said anything about the incident which she described as ‘so horrific’.
‘I just really got scared,’ she added.
‘I look back now and just feel very sorry for my 16-year-old self, and wish I could protect her.
‘I feel like I have to do this, I want to do this, and I want to stand for the women and just hopefully make any kind of change (so) that in the future, my daughter wouldn’t have to go through something like this.
‘It would be spoken about, and these predators wouldn’t be able to get away with what they’re getting away with.’
Historic allegations regarding Al Fayed’s conduct are now being addressed as 20 women, ex-employees, have claimed they were sexually assaulted at the store or in one of his many properties.
Five women also accused Al Fayed of raping them.
Barrister Dean Armstrong KC, who is representing the women, shared further details at a press conference earlier this month. He compared this case to the likes of Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein.
‘We will say plainly, Mohammed Al Fayed was a monster,’ he said.
In one heartbreaking testimony, a woman shared she was raped by Al Fayed in his Park Lane home.
‘I made it obvious that I didn’t want that to happen. I did not give consent. I just wanted it to be over.’
And another woman, who was a teenager at the time, was raped at his Mayfair address.
She said: ‘Mohamed Al Fayed was a monster, a sexual predator with no moral compass whatsoever.
‘We were all so scared. He actively cultivated fear. If he said ‘jump’ employees would ask “how high”.’
Harrods has said they are ‘utterly appalled’ at the allegations which span from 1985 to 2010.
They acknowledged they ‘failed their employees’ during this time.
The statement continued: The Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010, it is one that seeks to put the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do.’
Elsewhere former Fulham manager Gaute Haugenes (from 2001 to 2003) shared the football club put down extra precautions to protect players as Al Fayed had a reputation for liking ‘young, blonde girls’.
A Fulham spokesperson added: ‘We are in the process of establishing whether anyone at the club is or has been affected.
‘Should any person wish to share information or experiences relating to these allegations, we encourage them to contact the club at [email protected] or the police.’
A BBC investigation into Al Fayed’s alleged predatory behavior aired last week, Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods.
Al Fayed died aged 94 on August 30, 2023.
Sexual allegations have previously been brought against him but a Met police investigation led to no charges in 2015, citing that there was not ‘a realistic prospect of conviction’