Letterman blackmailer motivated by kiss

David Letterman’s alleged blackmailer was motivated by seeing the TV host kiss his girlfriend.

Producer of US crime show ‘48 Hours’, Robert Halderman, had reportedly discovered the shamed ‘Late Show’ presenter kissing his partner, Stephanie Birkitt, at the end of the driveway to the home they shared in August.

Friends say this was the turning point which sparked Halderman to make the alleged $2m extortion threat against Letterman, for which he has been arrested and pleaded not guilty to.

A source said: “You have here someone who went through a divorce, losing children, his world is falling apart, and the one thing you can hold onto wasn't what he thought it was."

Halderman, 51, and Birkitt, 34, had lived together since the breakdown and divorce of the producer’s previous marriage in 2004.

The accusation Halderman discovered Letterman with ‘Late Show’ worker Birkitt in August suggests his relations with other women had continued after he had married long term partner Regina Lasko in March.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed Lasko – who has a six year old daughter with Letterman- was the one who demanded her husband apologise during his show last week.

A source told Fox news: “An apology wasn’t something Dave wanted to do at all. He wanted the whole thing to blow over.

"But Regina told him he better make an apology to let everyone know how sorry he was for how much he hurt and humiliated her.”

Lasko and Letterman have been together for 23 years. He is believed to have had relations with a number of female workers on ‘Late Show’, although so far only Birkitt and Holly Hester - a former intern on the show - have come forward to say they were involved with the star.

It was also reported this week that Birkitt has been banned from the set of ‘Late Show’.