Veteran news anchor Charlie Rose accused of sexual misconduct by eight women

Charlie Rose is the latest public figure to be felled by sexual misconduct allegations, with PBS halting distribution of his interview show and CBS News suspending him.

Eight women accused the veteran newsman of inappropriate behaviour, according to the Washington Post. 

The women, who all worked for Rose or tried to work for him, accused him of groping them, walking naked in front of them and telling one that he dreamed about her swimming nude.

Rose, 75, told the Post that he was "deeply embarrassed" and apologised for his behaviour.

"PBS was shocked to learn today of these deeply disturbing allegations," the public broadcasting service said in a statement. "We are immediately suspending distribution of ’Charlie Rose.’"

Three women went on the record in the Post’s deeply-reported story. Reah Bravo, a former associate producer for Rose’s PBS show who began working for him in 2007, told the newspaper: "He was a sexual predator, and I was his victim."

Bravo said Rose groped her on multiple occasions and once, during a business trip to Indiana, called her to his hotel room where he emerged from a shower naked.

Kyle Godfrey-Ryan, one of Rose’s former assistants, was 21 when she said Rose repeatedly called her to describe his fantasies of her swimming naked at the pool at his Long Island home while he watched from his bedroom.

Rose’s interview show is seen in 94 percent of the country on PBS stations. It is rebroadcast on Bloomberg’s cable network, which also announced Monday it was suspending the show.

He interviews a wide circle of people in the media, politics and entertainment - this month including Harvard President Drew Faust, rapper Macklemore and the Post’s Robert Costa, who talked about that paper’s sexual harassment investigation of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore.

He also hosts "CBS This Morning" with Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell, a critically-acclaimed morning news programmes which has been gaining the past few years on its better-known rivals. Rose also conducts interviews for "60 Minutes."

An acute listener, Rose employed an engaging yet serious style in contrast to the bitter partisan arguments, cross-talk and raised voices on cable television. True to the show's sober tone, the set was simply a table and chairs with an all-black background.

His persona on "CBS This Morning" was a little more whimsical, given the lighter subject matter of morning news shows in the United States.