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TV presenter Dan Walker has broken his silence after he settled his former co-host's racism, sexism and bullying employment claim. It is understood that broadcaster Claudia-Liza Vanderpuiju reached a "mutual agreement" with ITN and Channel 5. She has now withdrawn her claims against former co-host Walker, a statement from her lawyers confirmed.

The dad-of-three was accused of sexism, misogyny and bullying, all of which he has denied. On Friday (April 24), Claudia-Liza strode into the London Tribunals Centre wearing a pinstripe blazer, while Dan chose not to come. Their legal teams had private hearings with employment judge Emma Webber on Monday (April 20), yesterday (April 23) and this morning.

Both parties formally agreed to a settlement at the last second of court time, after days of negotiations, with the court building staying open late so they could finalise the paperwork. The 49-year-old ex-Strictly star, who recently spoke out following Football Focus's axe, had been named in the claims, along with ITN, which makes Channel 5 News, and Channel 5 owner, Paramount.

This means that the former BBC Breakfast host has dodged an employment tribunal scheduled to take place over five weeks. Now, she has withdrawn her claims, with her lawyers revealing: "Claudia-Liza fully withdraws her allegations relating to Dan Walker and does not intend to repeat or pursue them."

After the news broke, the 49-year-old broadcaster took to Instagram to share a statement about the tribunal. He penned: "Channel 5 and ITN have reached an agreement with the claimant. I firmly feel that I should have never been pulled into this; however, I was fully prepared to go to the tribunal and defend the allegations which were levelled at me.

"Through all of this, I have always been concerned for the claimant's wellbeing, and that has not changed. I hope she finds peace. I want to thank my family and friends for all their love and support through this. I will be forever grateful to those who were kind enough to go on the record with their accounts of working alongside me."

He concluded: "My thanks also to my legal team and the wonderful colleagues at 5 News and Classic FM who have supported me every step of the way." Claudia-Liza claimed that she was the victim of a sham redundancy because, as a whistleblower, she made protected disclosures alleging that a toxic culture existed in the Channel 5 Newsroom, and that its editorial content reflected its racist culture.

She also alleged that ITN and Channel 5 attempted to cover up the racist culture at Channel 5 News, which they have tolerated despite this breaching their statutory obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and the terms of their Ofcom License. The presenter left Channel 5 in 2024, working with Walker for her final 12 months.

Devote Christian Dan had amassed more than 50 character witness statements to defend himself ahead of the tribunal. Veteran broadcaster Sue Barker also publicly defended him in an interview with The Sun. She told the outlet: "I don't feel I'm putting my head above the parapet speaking up for Dan. I know he'd do the same.

"I have sat next to him production many times and he really is one of the nicest, most courteous and hard-working presenters I have broadcast with. When I read what was in the papers, I was happy to contact him and give 100 per cent support. I told him to stay strong and that I would help in any way I could."