Ananova:

DJ Bruno Brookes says he is "shocked and saddened" by Anthea Turner's claim that he beat her during their 10-year relationship.

Turner has told The Sun newspaper she was "knocked from pillar to post" by her ex-lover, and has given details of three specific assaults.

She claimed former Radio One DJ Brookes punched her to the floor and kicked her in the stomach in the first incident, about a year after they started seeing each other.

But Brookes says in a statement issued by his Storm Live Internet radio company: "I am shocked and saddened by these allegations.

"I think Anthea is trying to find a way to regain public sympathy and support."

He denied having punched or kicked Turner, but told The Sun they had had "scuffles" during their relationship.

Turner told the newspaper that on another occasion Brookes threw a TV set at her, dislocating her elbow.

"To this day I have bad dreams about Bruno," said Turner.

"I continue to feel intimidated by it all. I understand there comes a point in life where you have to stand up to a bully. And this is mine."

Turner alleged that in another incident, when she was a fledgling broadcaster, she told Brookes she had agreed to present a show on her local radio station, and he grabbed her by the hair, slamming her head against a car dashboard.

"I have scars on the outside because of what Bruno did to me but many more on the inside.

"I have always felt I deserved what I got, that it was all my fault. Bruno always told me it was and I came to believe it," she told the newspaper.

Turner added that she only broke free from Brookes after meeting her first husband, the DJ Peter Powell.