It was one of the more awkward conversations that Dan Walker has endured in his near 30-year broadcasting career. A little over a year after he arrived at Channel 5 in 2022 to host the network's daily news programme alongside its regular host, Claudia-Liza Vanderpuije, she confessed that she had aired a series of grievances with their bosses.
He was not a part of this complaint, she assured him.
Indeed, the stories that Vanderpuije regaled him with that day concerned the problems she had experienced at the hands of ITN - the company that produces the news programmes for Channel 5 - over the three years she had been in the job.
Walker, 49, then the network's shiny new signing and fresh from the BBC, was shocked by her allegations, which had also emerged in an online report. And he was 'extremely understanding' of the tough time she was having.
As my source explains: 'When Claudia spoke to Dan and told him she had raised issues [about ITN], he was very kind. He had seen the story online, which she claimed was leaked by someone other than her.
'Still, he was determined to look after her. Dan is a kind man who doesn't want anyone to suffer. He had split loyalties of course - he was the new boy at Channel 5 - but he is also very caring and compassionate about his colleagues.'
Today, however, I can reveal Walker was left 'devastated' when it emerged that - contrary to what Vanderpuije had told him - he was named as a central part of her complaint.
His friends believe she threw him under the bus in a bid to 'destroy him' as she went after a £13 million payout from ITN and Paramount, Channel 5's parent company.
A little over a year after dan Walker arrived at Channel 5, Claudia-Liza Vanderpuije confessed that she had aired a series of grievances with their bosses
A source shared that when Claudia spoke to Dan about the issues she raised with ITN, 'he was very kind' and 'determined to look after her'
Walker was left 'devastated' when it emerged that - contrary to what Vanderpuije had told him - he was named as a central part of her complaint
And it meant Walker found himself as a respondent alongside the two broadcasting giants in her claims of sexism, misogyny against a black woman, and bullying in the workplace.
In fact, the former Football Focus presenter was stunned to realise she had 'gone to great depths' to ensure he would be dragged into the row.
'Dan was upset, of course he was,' says a friend. 'It was all a shock for him, he's been around for years, he knows how difficult the workplace can be. But when he realised the truth, some months after Claudia-Liza had promised him he wasn't part of her grievances, he was blindsided.
'But as he got his head around it he was ready to fight and have his say in court.'
The case was scheduled to begin on April 20 at London Tribunals Centre after she failed to agree a settlement with ITN and Paramount. Dan, furious with the allegations made against him, was 'very, very keen' for the truth to come out as he prepared for his appearance.
And I can reveal that was for one very good reason: a damning piece of evidence unearthed within Vanderpuije's paperwork that proved she 'had it in' for Dan.
Those familiar with the case say Vanderpuije, 47, was desperate for this evidence not to be made public - something that would automatically have happened if the full hearing had gone ahead.
To that end, her lawyer Jonathan Coad, who previously represented Phillip Schofield, went on the attack when the hearing opened in a bid to stop the bundle of paperwork being shared with journalists in the usual way.
My colleague who attended that hearing said it was chaotic, with secret meetings taking place before anything could be made public.
And it worked. Four days later, without a word of evidence being seen by anyone other than those directly involved in the case, Vanderpuije withdrew her allegations against Walker and halted the legal action entirely - agreeing an out-of-court settlement far less than the £4 million Mr Coad had been most recently demanding.
After the case was dropped, she even put out a statement which confirmed she 'does not intend to repeat or pursue' the allegations.
'If the hearing had gone ahead, it would have shown a side to Claudia-Liza that she really, really wouldn't want out there,' confirms my source.
'It would have been made public, it would have been out there that she made a decision to go after him. Perhaps her plan in naming Dan as a respondent in the claim was to scare her former employers into settling, as Dan is Channel 5's golden goose - who knows?
'But it was cruel.'
It has been perhaps crueller for Walker, however, that he has been denied his day in court.
'Dan believes in telling the truth and he wanted the details of what Claudia-Liza had done to him to be heard by the public, his viewers and his fans.
'He was totally stitched up, and it is disgusting.'
Following confirmation it had all come to an end, Walker went on to thank his newsroom colleagues and his legal team. Notably, though, there was no nod to ITN. My insiders there suggest this is because the situation was allowed to escalate into an 'unnecessary, costly, painful, headline-grabbing court case'. They say that if the company's CEO, Rachel Corp, had seized control of it early on, it would not have turned into such a runaway train.
Corp - who is, ironically, the chair of media lobbying and support group Women In Journalism - has been accused by her own employees of failing to take the decisive action that would have prevented Walker from being scapegoated.
It's not the first time she has faced controversy. As editor of ITV News in 2020, she sacked legendary newsreader Alastair Stewart for breaching editorial guidelines following an exchange with a black man on Twitter, now X, when he quoted a speech from Shakespeare's Measure For Measure containing the phrase 'angry ape'.
Now, staff say this is yet another case that was allowed to 'spiral'.
'Dan paid the price, he was dragged in because his name would generate headlines,' my source says.
'Rachel is widely seen internally as a weak, indecisive leader who has hardly been a success, but others have suffered as a result. She can barely handle a company town hall meeting let alone a situation like this.'
As for Walker's next move, I'm told that he won't be taking his own action in retaliation.
'After all of this, Dan has decided to be the bigger person,' says a friend.'In fact,he has been concerned about Claudia-Liza’s wellbeing and hopes that she is on the mend.