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When the TV presenter Eden Blackman died in June at the age of 57, after a long illness, the emotion some women felt was not sadness, but something closer to relief.

Byline Times can reveal that the late television personality, who co-presented Channel 4's (E4) Celebs Go Dating from 2016 to 2018, had been accused by multiple women of violent abuse both prior to and during his time on the show.

One woman, 'Sophia', knew of Blackman through two friends who, she said, he had previously dated and allegedly violently assaulted. Based on their warnings, she spent nearly a decade refusing his attempts to book her for modelling work.

Then, in March 2016, an email arrived from a modelling agent named 'Christian Buckley', looking to book her for an audition for what was claimed to be a talent show. This happened while the first series of Celebs Go Dating was in production, though Blackman had not yet been confirmed as a presenter.

With just her and 'Buckley' in the studio, Sophia alleged that he became violent.

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"It was about an hour [to the meeting] when he asked me to start modelling, to show what I could do. I did, and then he took his belt and started beating me. Then he got other implements and hit me with those…When he started hitting me, I realised who he was."

The supposed booking agent, she said, was Blackman - the man she had spent years avoiding. She believes it was retribution for avoiding his advances for so long.

"He ended up beating me very badly," she told Byline Times. "It's a situation where you don't know what to do. I remember this weird thing about being called 'Uncle' - he said 'call me uncle' or it would get worse…You do what you're told in that situation because it's a matter of survival, isn't it?"

After escaping, she called an ex of Blackman's who confirmed from her detailed description that it was him. They recognised the pseudonym too: 'Christian' referred to Christian Grey, the protagonist of Fifty Shades of Grey; while 'Buckley' referred to Jeff Buckley, Blackman's favourite musician.

Blackman later told a mutual acquaintance that the encounter was "all consensual" and that "she wanted it".

Nadia Essex, who co-presented Celebs Go Dating alongside Blackman, said that she became aware of concerns about his behaviour towards women during their time working together on the show.

Essex told Byline Times that she raised concerns about Blackman's alleged inappropriate behaviour towards women with Lime Pictures in October 2017. Lime Pictures investigated Essex's concerns, speaking to individuals who might have more information.

Following this investigation, both presenters entered mediation and agreed to continue working together. Essex's contract was renewed for Series 4 in November 2017, and subsequently for Series 5.

Lawyers for Lime Pictures emphasised that it takes all complaints seriously and investigated Essex's allegations - and another separate complaint - as thoroughly as it could within the constraints of what complainants were willing to do.

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The production company's lawyers said that, in 2018, Essex provided the production firm with written assurances that she was not linked to anonymous Twitter (now X) accounts "trolling" Blackman. She later admitted that she was responsible for those accounts. Essex was suspended and she resigned shortly afterwards.

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