Noel Clarke, who recurred on Doctor Who as Mickey Smith between 2005 and 2010, has been accused of sexual harassment and bullying by 20 women.
According to The Guardian, Clarke is also being accused of "unwanted touching or groping, sexually inappropriate behaviour and comments on set, professional misconduct, taking and sharing sexually explicit pictures and videos without consent." Clarke denied all the allegations except one, admitting that he made inappropriate comments about one woman. However, he says he apologized and denies the rest of her claim.
"In a 20-year career, I have put inclusivity and diversity at the forefront of my work and never had a complaint made against me," Clarke said in a statement. "If anyone who has worked with me has ever felt uncomfortable or disrespected, I sincerely apologise. I vehemently deny any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing and intend to defend myself against these false allegations."
The news comes just a few weeks after Clarke received a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) award. Following the March 29 announcement that Clarke would receive his award, the organization received "anonymous emails and reports of allegations via intermediaries, but no evidence was provided." BAFTA said that it was under no obligation to investigate Clarke and was given no information to allow it to begin a proper investigation.
"We take this matter extremely seriously," BAFTA said at the time. "We encouraged the people who contacted us to report the matter to the appropriate authorities and also engaged an independent victim support expert to provide them with professional advice, and that support remains in place."
"We will continue to review this matter, and should any allegations be substantiated we will take appropriate action," it added.
However, after The Guardian published its story, BAFTA amended its statement. "In light of the Guardian's piece, which for Bafta provided for the first time detailed accounts outlining serious allegations regarding Noel Clarke's conduct, we have immediately suspended the award and Noel Clarke’s membership of Bafta until further notice."
One of the women, Gina Powell, worked for Clarke as a producer between September 2014 and March 2017. She said that he harassed her, at one point telling her he was going to "to fuck her and fire her" before deciding to keep her on. Powell also stated that Clarke showed her secret footage he took of a naked audition for Jahannah James. Both James and her agent were told the audition would not be filmed. A casting director for the audition said there is "absolutely no way" Clarke could have filmed the tape.
A detailed account of the allegations against Clarke can be found in The Guardian's story.
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