Latest news with #NoelClarke
Sky News
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Noel Clarke: Actress said to have been groped by actor tells court 'it is a lie'
An actress who was said to have been groped by Noel Clarke has defended the actor in his libel case against the Guardian, the High Court has heard. Clarke is suing Guardian News and Media (GNM) over seven articles and a podcast, including an article in April 2021 that said 20 women who knew him professionally had come forward with allegations of misconduct. Clarke denies the allegations, while GNM is defending its reporting as being both true and in the public interest. At a hearing on Friday, actress Louise Dylan said she heard through a friend that Clarke's former business partner Davie Fairbanks had claimed he saw her being groped by Clarke at the wrap party for The Knot. After learning of the current libel case she wrote an email to Clarke, who she described as a friend, in which she said the allegation was untrue, she said. She told the High Court in London: "Someone told the Guardian that he had assaulted me and I wrote this email 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." She also said she never spoke to journalists from the Guardian. The Guardian did not report the allegations about Ms Dylan. She said: "They are reporters who are supposed to research an article before publishing something. "I was told I had spoken to these journalists to corroborate a story but I had not." She said she had been at the wrap party with her friend and her boyfriend, following a group dinner beforehand. She said she didn't "remember [the wrap party] too well," adding, "I don't remember the specifics of the party other than we had a nice time". Philip Williams, representing Clarke, previously told the court in written submissions that the actor "has clearly established the falsity of all of the allegations". The barrister continued that his client was "barely able to reply to the allegations" published by the Guardian and was "perceived as a criminal by all those who previously trusted and worked with him". Gavin Millar KC, for GNM, said in his written submissions that the paper "did not simply accept what was said to it" and that "much time and resource was devoted to getting to the truth". He also said that there is "ample evidence" that all of the articles were true or substantially true. Clarke, who is best known for his roles in Doctor Who and the Kidulthood movie trilogy, had his BAFTA membership and outstanding British contribution to cinema award suspended in 2021, following the allegations. He later dropped a legal action he had brought against the charity. The hearing before Mrs Justice Steyn is due to conclude next month, with a decision expected in writing at a later date.
Sky News
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Noel Clarke: Actress alleged to have been groped by actor tells court 'it is a lie'
An actress who was said to have been groped by Noel Clarke denies having been touched inappropriately and said she never spoke to Guardian journalists before they published allegations of sexual misconduct, the High Court has heard. The 49-year-old actor is suing Guardian News and Media (GNM) over seven articles and a podcast, including an article in April 2021 that said 20 women who knew him professionally had come forward with allegations of misconduct. Clarke denies the allegations, while GNM is defending its reporting as being both true and in the public interest. At a hearing on Friday, actress Louise Dylan said she heard through a friend that Clarke's former business partner Davie Fairbanks had claimed he saw her being groped by Clarke at the wrap party for The Knot. After learning of the current libel case she wrote an email to Clarke, who she described as a friend, in which she said the allegation was untrue, she said. She told the High Court in London: "Someone told the Guardian that he had assaulted me and I wrote this email 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." She also said she never spoke to journalists from the Guardian before publication of the original story in April 2021. She said: "They are reporters who are supposed to research an article before publishing something. "I was told I had spoken to these journalists to corroborate a story but I had not." She said she had been at the wrap party with her friend and her boyfriend, following a group dinner beforehand. She said she didn't "remember [the wrap party] too well," adding, "I don't remember the specifics of the party other than we had a nice time". Philip Williams, representing Clarke, previously told the court in written submissions that the actor "has clearly established the falsity of all of the allegations". The barrister continued that his client was "barely able to reply to the allegations" published by the Guardian and was "perceived as a criminal by all those who previously trusted and worked with him". Gavin Millar KC, for GNM, said in his written submissions that the paper "did not simply accept what was said to it" and that "much time and resource was devoted to getting to the truth". He also said that there is "ample evidence" that all of the articles were true or substantially true. Clarke is best known for his roles in Doctor Who and the Kidulthood movie trilogy. The hearing before Mrs Justice Steyn is due to conclude next month, with a decision expected in writing at a later date.
The Guardian
13-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Noel Clarke's wife tells court his accusers are liars who fabricated claims
Noel Clarke's wife has said his accusers are liars who have deliberately fabricated sexual misconduct claims about him. Giving evidence in the actor's libel case against the Guardian, Iris Clarke said her husband was generous and caring, and that people he had worked with and helped had taken advantage of him. Noel Clarke, 49, who wrote and produced the Kidulthood trilogy, is suing Guardian News and Media (GNM) over seven articles and a podcast published between April 2021 and March 2022. Among GNM's witnesses are Gina Powell, a film producer and documentary maker, who worked for Clarke from 2014 to 2017 and alleges 'a pattern of abusive behaviour, financial exploitation, bullying and sexual misconduct'. Iris Clarke said Powell had never seemed uncomfortable around her husband and so could not be telling the truth. 'She is a liar,' she said. 'She was not threatened or intimidated by him. I feel like she was infatuated with him.' Asked by Gavin Millar KC, for GNM, how she could say Powell had never been uncomfortable away from her own presence, she replied: 'I am telling you, she was never uncomfortable around my husband, and even when she was not in my presence I could see she was not uncomfortable, or do I have to be physically beside her?' She also accused Davie Fairbanks, a writer, director and former creative partner of her husband, of lying. Fairbanks's allegations include claims that Noel Clarke secretly filmed nude auditions and groped an actor at a wrap party. Iris Clarke said Fairbanks had been like a brother to her husband but had been envious of him and deceitful. 'He would go around telling people not nice things about my husband to better himself,' she told the court. 'He's a liar … It's very clear he wanted to target my husband.' She said the former Doctor Who star had tried to help Fairbanks when his friend's mother had died and with finding a place to live. She told the court she had warned her husband that Fairbanks was manipulative but he was 'always with his kind heart trying to help people'. 'Noel is a person who is too generous, he's too caring,' she said. Earlier, completing his evidence on day four in the witness box, Noel Clarke said: 'I think the world has changed. I think things that were acceptable 10, 20 years ago are just no longer acceptable and throwing a blanket lens of 2021 on them is just not fair on anybody.'
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Noel Clarke's Defamation Case Against The Guardian Begins, Actor Says He's Victim Of 'Unlawful Conspiracy'
Lawyers for filmmaker Noel Clarke told a court today that The Guardian newspaper acted as the 'judge, jury, and executioner' of the Kidulthood filmmaker's career when they published a series of articles in which he was accused of various incidents of misconduct. In written submissions to the court, according to the BBC, Clarke's lawyers said claims that he was a 'serial abuser of women' were false, and that he was the victim of an 'unlawful conspiracy.' More from Deadline Major Publishers From The Guardian To Condé Nast Sue AI Startup For Copyright Violation In Latest Salvo The Guardian Exits Elon Musk's X: "A Toxic Media Platform" Gov. Kristi Noem Reveals She Shot And Killed "Untrainable" Family Dog And A "Nasty" Goat In Her New Memoir Guardian News and Media told the court that its reporting was accurate and in the public interest, the BBC reported. Lawyers for the newspaper also described Clarke's conspiracy claim as a 'wild allegation'. The Guardian published multiple articles in which Clarke was accused of various incidents of misconduct by 20 women between 2004 and 2019. The actor, producer, and director, best known for work such as Kidulthood and its two follow-up movies, has denied all of the allegations and said the articles have had a 'catastrophic' effect on his career. 'A sexual predator is not a womanizer, or someone who has had an extramarital affair, or a flirt, or a man who looks for mutually beneficial opportunities for sexual intercourse,' Clarke's lawyers said in court today. 'Mr. Clarke is absolutely not, and never has been, a sexual predator. The Guardian has got it plum wrong.' According to PA, Clarke's lawyer continued: 'The Guardian acted like archaeologists, and tried to dig up the past. They came up with a story that had more holes than a colander.' Clarke is said to be looking for damages of around $12m (£10m) in the defamation suit. Alongside claiming general damages for reputational harm, Clarke is looking for damages that cover specific financial losses. Clarke's claim says The Guardian's articles had a 'devastating' impact on his finances, according to the BBC, with the actor claiming 'every existing or upcoming contract' he had was canceled following The Guardian's reports. Clarke's claim says he has 'not had one single work contract' since the first Guardian article about him was published in April 2021. Clarke is claiming aggravated damages for what his lawyers describe as the 'relentless, targeted, vicious and persistent nature of the wholly unjustified defamatory campaign' mounted against him by the Guardian. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys & More 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Noel Clarke tells court he is 'victim of unlawful conspiracy'
Noel Clarke has told the High Court he is the victim of an "unlawful conspiracy" involving The Guardian and a large number of other individuals after allegations of sexually inappropriate behaviour were made against him. In written submissions, Mr Clarke's legal team said allegations that the award-winning actor, writer, producer and director was a "serial abuser of women" were false. It added that the "conspirators'" intention was to cause him "irreparable" financial and reputational damage. The Guardian has said told the court that it will be defending its journalism as being both true and in the public interest, and described the conspiracy claim as a "wild allegation". The allegations against Mr Clarke were published in a series of articles in the Guardian in 2021 and 2022. He is now suing Guardian News and Media (GNM). He says that the articles were untrue and that The Guardian "played the role of judge, jury and executioner" of his career and reputation. The articles featured claims from a number of women in the film and TV industry who reportedly accused him of groping and sexually inappropriate behaviour, over a number of years. Mr Clarke, who is best known for his work in the films Kidulthood, Adulthood and Brotherhood, vehemently denies the allegations. He is expected to start giving evidence later today. In its written submissions, The Guardian said that it will be defending the case, and that the trial will hear from 16 women who it says will give tell the court about Mr Clarke's conduct first-hand. It says they will give evidence of harassment, unwanted sexual conduct and sexual assault. The trial is scheduled to last for six weeks.
