TV personality Ashley James became overcome with emotion during a conversation on the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, telling ITV viewers the situation felt deeply personal to her.
On Thursday morning, Andrew was arrested at his Sandringham estate on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
King Charles’s brother was released on Thursday evening after spending 11 hours in police custody on his 66th birthday.
Ms James, a former Made in Chelsea star, who regularly appears on This Morning, started to cry over the discussion on Friday, just days after making a heartbreaking revelation about her own experience.
Ashley James is a regular guest on the ITV show.
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ITV
“It feels personal,” she admitted on the magazine show, before struggling to continue speaking.
After composing herself, Ms James explained to hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary that her emotional response stemmed from watching Jeffrey Epstein’s survivors fight for justice over many years.
“I felt a huge sense of relief yesterday watching Andrew be arrested,” she said, whilst acknowledging that his detention relates to state matters rather than the alleged sexual abuse claims made by Virginia Giuffre, who has since died.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied all allegations against him, including the claims made by Giuffre.
Andrew was pictured slouched in the back of a vehicle on Thursday evening as he left Aylsham police station.
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GETTYMs James went on to describe how the situation resonates with countless women and girls who have witnessed the horrors connected to Jeffrey Epstein.
She then bravely revealed her own experience as a survivor of sexual assault, explaining that her experience is what has made her feel so strongly about the ongoing claims.
“As a survivor of sexual assault, you question the system,” she shared. “You question the system that makes it so difficult for survivors to speak out.”
Ms James praised Virginia Giuffre and other survivors for their courage.
Ms Giuffre claimed to have been trafficked to have sex with Andrew on three occasions, in London as well as on Epstein’s private island.
Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing and settled with Ms Giuffre out of court in 2022 with no admission of liability.
“I just want to commend the bravery of Virginia Giuffre and the other survivors,” she said.
The television personality’s emotional appearance comes after she revealed earlier this month that she was raped when she was 21 years old while studying at Nottingham University.
Ms James disclosed the assault for the first time in her new book, Bimbo, recounting how a male friend attacked her after a night out at a club while she was unconscious.
Ashley James opened up on her emotional response during Friday’s This Morning.
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ITV
“It was one of the very worst moments of my life. It was hugely traumatic,” she wrote in a chapter titled Silly Girl, a reference to how victims are often dismissed.
She explained her decision to share the experience was not intended to shock readers but rather to highlight how widespread such incidents are and expose the failings of support systems available to survivors.
Ms James revealed in her book that she chose not to report the attack because her assailant was someone she knew rather than a stranger, which made it harder for her to recognise him as a rapist.
“The only person I blamed was myself. For years,” she wrote, describing how she even attempted to maintain a friendship with her attacker afterwards.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on Thursday, February 19, on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
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GETTYDuring her This Morning appearance, Ms James called for accountability regardless of someone’s position in society, stating that the law should protect ordinary people rather than those in power.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a politician, part of the Royal Family, you are held to account,” she added.
