Dan Wootton’s Celebrity Targets Revealed

Dan Wootton met young male reality TV stars through his work as a prominent showbusiness journalist and then privately propositioned them to do photo shoots at his home for “underwear brands” in an “abhorrent abuse of power”, Byline Times can reveal.

Among those Wootton targeted over an eight-year period between 2011 and 2019 – during which he was working for The Sun, ITV and the Daily Mail – were The Only Way is Essex star Kirk Norcoss, Big Brother contestant JJ Bird, and an X Factor singer who was just out of his teens. 

Each had first encountered Wootton – today a star presenter on GB News – as a result of their involvement in the television industry, on which it was his highly-paid job to report and through which he enjoyed a powerful media influence.

Wootton was on his first day as a columnist and feature writer for the Daily Mail in December 2011 when he approached Big Brother series 11 contestant JJ Bird, then 25, and who is today a boxing trainer having also been a pro-fighter.

Mr Bird, who refused Wootton’s offers, is among the first group of people in the public eye to discuss their interactions with Wootton. 

He told Byline Times: “Dan told me he was an amateur photographer and was ‘working with underwear brands’. He invited me to a test shoot at his flat with a fee attached. At that time, I was trying to fund my boxing career and develop my career in entertainment. Dan was a big name in the world of showbiz journalism who had the power to do that – plus anything where I was going to receive payment would obviously have been very useful.

“Looking back now, it was a complete abuse of his power and position and he should not have been offering to do that kind of thing.”

Mr Bird said Wootton contacted him first on Facebook, claiming “[there is] one person who I’m working for at the moment who’s really keen to get you for work”. 

In later messages, Wootton changed it to “two people I’m working with”, adding: “It’s just a test shoot so low key. So not for publication. Will still pay obviously. 

“Just you in various sportswear/swimwear/underwear which I’ll run by [the man I’m working for] before he decides how to do a full shoot which could be for publication. Just to be certain… could you text or email me a quick shot of you shirtless now. But I’m pretty sure we’ll wanna go ahead now because [we] don’t necessarily need you mega ripped anyway.”