Bianca Gascoigne says she was sexually assaulted by Mohamed Al Fayed when she was 16

Bianca Gascoigne, daughter of football legend Paul Gascoigne and star of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, has made shocking allegations against Mohamed Al-Fayed. The 37 year-old claims she was groomed and sexually assaulted by the Egyptian businessman while working at Harrods as a teenager.

Bianca, who frequently visited the luxury department store in Knightsbridge with her parents, said Al-Fayed would always be 'charming' and bring them gifts. At 16, she joined a team working at Harrods, feeling 'safe' due to her familiarity with Al-Fayed.

However, speaking publicly for the first time on The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee, Bianca alleges that things took a dark turn once she started working under Al-Fayed. She claims he would 'grope her' and 'force her to kiss him' weekly during their meetings.

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Bianca described feeling 'trapped' and 'frightened' while working at Harrods. She particularly recalls one night when Al Fayed offered her to stay at Harrods Park Lane apartment before an early flight, where she alleges he turned up and sexually assaulted her.

"Al-Fayed turned up at the apartment to my shock, I was just gobsmacked, I was kind of very shell-shocked," she remembered. "I just didn't really know what to do, he came in and then he sat me down on the sofa. He got his privates out and got my hands and was trying to manoeuvre them on his parts," reports the Mirror.

"When that didn't work he was trying to force my head on to his lap. And I don't know how but I managed to wiggle away. And I think possibly you know, that him knowing my parents... I don't know, that might have saved me at that moment. But it was horrific."

Bianca confessed that she kept the secret for a long time because she felt embarrassed and ashamed.

After starting her career at Harrods as a shop floor worker, she was later promoted to her dream job as a fashion buyer. "Obviously, I loved my job because it's exactly what I wanted to do - that was my dream," she admitted.

"And, you know, he's 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."

Bianca feared that if she spoke out against Al-Fayed, she would lose her dream job and be left with nothing, and she didn't want to let her parents down.

"Al-Fayed told me that if I would say anything that I would lose my job," she revealed. "So I just got really scared, at 16 turning 17, you think you know what's going on at the time but you really don't. I look back now and just feel very sorry for my 16 year old self and wish I could protect her."

The reality TV celeb is now opening up in hopes it will encourage other women to come forward.

Bianca expressed: "I feel like I have to do this, like I want to do this."

She continued firmly: "I want to stand for the women and, you know, hopefully make any kind of change so that in the future my daughter won't have to go through something like this... and these predators won't be able to get away with what they are getting away with."

Ever since an investigative piece by the BBC aired, claims against the late Al-Fayed have been surfacing. The Egyptian businessman passed away last year at 94.

With 60 allegations lodged with the Metropolitan Police following the BBC exposé, including accusations of rape and assault, these come atop 21 other claims made by women against the businessman from 2005 until 2023.

Harrods announced recently that there are over 250 individuals involved in their process to resolve compensation connected to Al-Fayed's alleged sexual misdeeds. The Mirror has reached out to Harrods for a statement regarding the issue.

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