An actor who was said to have been groped by Noel Clarke has told the high court that the incident never happened.
In a witness statement for Guardian News and Media (GNM), which is being sued for libel by Clarke, his former creative partner Davie Fairbanks said he saw the former Doctor Who star inappropriately touch Louise Dylan at the wrap party for the 2012 film, The Knot.
However, giving evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London on Friday, Dylan said the alleged incident, which has never been reported by the Guardian, did not occur.
Dylan, a witness for Clarke, said: “Someone told the Guardian that he had assaulted me and I wrote this email [to Clarke] because it was not true.
“A friend called me and I said this did not happen. I told Noel that he has my support because it is a lie.”
Clarke’s libel claim relates to seven articles and a podcast published between April 2021 and March 2022 in which more than than 20 women accused him of sexual misconduct.
GNM’s defence to the claim is that its reporting was true and also that it was in the public interest. Its defence includes witness statements alleging more details of misconduct by Clarke than were published by the Guardian in the articles and podcast that are the subject of the claim.
Speaking about the wrap party, Dylan, whose credits include a 2009 TV adaption of Jane Austen’s Emma, told the court: “We all went out before the party to dinner and Davie was there. My boyfriend was there and there was a joke about me and Davie.
“The wrap party, I don’t remember too well. I was probably there for an hour, Davie was around.
“I don’t really recall Davie beyond that.
“I was with my friend at the time. I don’t remember the specifics of the party other than we had a nice time.”
Dylan was the third of four witnesses to give evidence in support of Clarke’s claim.
More witnesses will give evidence for Clarke on Monday and then GNM will call its witnesses, including 26 people who will give testimony saying they were the victims of, or witnesses to, serious misconduct by the actor, or can “otherwise corroborate” the allegations.
The court has heard that of those 26, 16 are women who claim they experienced Clarke’s misconduct first-hand, “some of them on multiple occasions”.
Source: theguardian.com
