Did Chris Walker's nude Skype call scandal give Carrie Bickmore the 'ick'? trends now
The Project star Carrie Bickmore has shocked Australia with the announcement that she and her longtime partner Chris Walker are separating.
And while the cause of their split remains unknown, Chris' infamous 'nude Skype call' scandal could well have something to do with it.
Carrie, 42, was left red-faced in May last year when Chris was caught with his trousers down on a company Skype call.
The Project star Carrie Bickmore has shocked Australia with the announcement that she and her longtime partner Chris Walker are separating. And while the cause of their split remains unknown, Chris' infamous 'nude Skype call' scandal could well have something to do with it. Pictured: Carrie and Chris in happier times
Chris, the executive producer of comedy show The Weekly, stripped naked in front of shocked ABC staff after he thought he'd left a video conference on May 17.
He wrongly thought he had left the conference when he took off his clothes in front of up to nine people, with the incident lasting between 40 seconds and two minutes.
Chris had dialled in while on sabbatical in the UK with Carrie and their three young children, with the faux pas occurring during a meeting following rehearsals and before the taping of The Weekly with Charlie Pickering.
Chris, the executive producer of comedy show The Weekly, stripped naked in front of shocked ABC staff after he thought he'd left a video conference on May 17
Carrie was likely mortified by the incident, as Chris' gaffe led to an avalanche of embarrassing headlines.
In a statement at the time, ABC said it was 'aware of an unintentional incident'.
'The ABC is in regular communication with the relevant team members and are in the process of developing strategies to ensure an incident of this nature does not occur again,' it said in a statement.
He wrongly thought he had left the conference when he took off his clothes in front of up to nine people, with the incident lasting between 40 seconds and two minutes
Following the incident, a staffer accused senior ABC managers of initially brushing off the gaffe as 'hilarious' and dismissing employees' concerns.
The ABC then reportedly offered counselling to staffers who witnessed the incident.
The staffer also accused the ABC of downplaying the gaffe because Walker's production company Thinkative Television is behind some of the public broadcaster's most popular shows, including The Weekly and Hard Quiz.
Following the incident, a staffer accused senior ABC managers of initially brushing off the gaffe as 'hilarious' and dismissing employees' concerns
'You're not allowed plastic bottles in the building, but the nude guy is on the screen [and] that's hilarious,' they grumbled.
'If it was an ABC person [instead of someone from an external production company] they would never be allowed to set foot in the place again.'
In June, The Australian reported that Chris was 'unlikely to face serious sanctions' for the gaffe.
The ABC has since offered counselling to staffers who witnessed the incident, The Herald Sun reported
The public broadcaster reportedly took the incident 'seriously' but managers say the steps already taken will 'probably' be the end of the matter.
An insider told the newspaper: 'It was a genuine mistake. Obviously, the ABC is taking it seriously if people were traumatised.
'But if serious action was taken against Chris Walker for an accidental flash, there'd also be an outcry.'
It wasn't the first time Chris had accidentally exposed himself during a video call.
In November 2021, Carrie host revealed on her Carrie & Tommy radio show that Walker had strolled naked into the background of a Zoom conference she was doing with other journalists from around the world.
Carrie said she and her partner later laughed about the incident for 45 minutes.
It wasn't the first time Chris had accidentally exposed himself during a video call. In November 2021, Carrie host revealed on her Carrie & Tommy radio show that Walker had strolled naked into the background of a Zoom conference she was doing with other journalists from around the world
On Wednesday, Carrie announced that she and Chris had parted ways.
The TV star made the announcement in an emotional Instagram post, and said the pair are now focusing on co-parenting their three children - Ollie, 15,
