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.
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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.”
Read more: Why is Noel Clarke suing the Guardian?
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, 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.
