Letterman blackmailed over affairs with staffers

In an extraordinary public confession, the Late Show host David Letterman told his studio audience last night that he had been the victim of an attempt at extortion. The would-be blackmailer, later named by US media as Robert Halderman, a producer on another CBS show 48 Hours, had demanded $2m to keep quiet about Letterman's affairs with female colleagues.

The revelation came a fortnight after Letterman hosted Barack Obama on his show (above) - the first serving president ever to appear. In acknowledging the extortion, Letterman also admitted to the affairs.

New York District Attorney Robert Morgenthau has since announced that Halderman was arrested following an undercover sting operation in which he was given a phoney $2m cheque. On Friday, he was charged with first-degree grand larceny, an offence punishable by a prison term of five to 15 years.

Letterman broke the news during the taping of last night's show. He began by asking whether the audience would like to hear a story. Not realising what was coming, they cheered him on.

He explained how three weeks ago he had found a package, left inside his car, from someone claiming to have information that proved he had had affairs with female Late Show employees. The blackmailer was threatening to write a film about Letterman, detailing the affairs.

"I get to looking through it [the package] and there's a letter... and it says, 'I know that you do some terrible, terrible things. And I can prove that you do these terrible things.' Sure enough, contained in the package was stuff to prove that I do terrible things," said Letterman.

He then contacted the Manhattan District Attorney's office who organised the sting operation. "This morning," he said, "I did something I've never done in my life. I had to go downtown and testify before a grand jury."

Admitting that he had had sexual affairs with female staff members, he told the audience: "My response to that is, yes I have. Would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Perhaps it would. Especially for the women.

"But that's a decision for them to make if they want to come public and talk about the relationships."

It was not clear when the affairs took place. Letterman married his long-term partner Regina Lasko in March after being together for than 20 years. They have a six-year-old son, Harry.

During the telling of the blackmail story, Letterman told his audience: "I'm motivated by nothing but guilt. If you know anything about me, I am just a towering mass of Lutheran, Midwestern guilt."

The revelation came as the Late Show was celebrating audience ratings which showed that, in the first week of its new series, it had won the late-night battle outright for the first time in four years. ·