How The Mail on Sunday gave outraged star of Doctor Who back his voice as he sues Guardian for £10m over sex pest ‘slurs’
- The actor is suing the newspaper over eight articles which impacted his career
- He told of his devastation that he was assumed guilty despite no investigation
Actor Noel Clarke is suing The Guardian newspaper for £10million over a series of ‘false’ articles alleging sexual misconduct towards several women.
Mr Clarke said the eight articles have had a ‘catastrophic’ impact on his career, causing him to suffer a ‘devastating’ financial loss of £10,140,000.60.
The Doctor Who star also claimed that ‘every existing or upcoming contract’ he had had been cancelled and that he has ‘not had one single work contract’ since the first Guardian article on him in April 2021.
The actor broke his silence in The Mail on Sunday last May after his career imploded, telling of his anger that he was never given a fair hearing over the accusations.
Speaking of the anonymous dossier of the 20 women’s claims, Noel Clarke told of his devastation that the television and movie industry assumed he was guilty despite no police investigation.
He went on to describe the rush to judgment on social media as a form of ‘modern McCarthyism’ – a reference to the Communist ‘witch hunts’ which gripped Cold War America.
Mr Clarke said the eight articles have had a ‘catastrophic’ impact on his career, causing him to suffer a ‘devastating’ financial loss of £10,140,000.60
In eight articles by the newspaper, 20 women who worked with Mr Clarke made allegations over sexual misconduct
READ MORE: Noel Clarke ‘to sue the Guardian for £10million damages’ over articles alleging sexual misconduct towards several women
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He added: ‘If we don’t need police and judges and juries any more, if we only need social media and the broadcasters, what world do we live in? At what point did the broadcasters in this country become the judges, juries and executioners of people?’
In the interview, Clarke, 47, also revealed for the first time that he had been left suicidal by the allegations. He said he had started carrying a hunting knife, bought as a souvenir while filming Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, in his pocket while waiting for a moment to cut his own throat.
He also told of he had lost his career overnight, including the production company he had built himself, saying: ‘Twenty years of work was gone in 24 hours. I lost everything.’
Mr Clarke was never arrested over the claims with the Met Police saying there was not enough evidence against him to warrant a criminal investigation.
Documents have been lodged at London’s High Court as part of a defamation case against the Guardian, according to the BBC. A judge will now decide what damages he is entitled to – if he wins his case.
He is also claiming for general damages which include harm to reputation and special damages which cover specific financial loss
The case was scheduled to be heard at the High Court today but the court was told the actor wanted new solicitors so it has been delayed.
As a result of this delay, the case will not be heard until October or early November later this year.
The court will decide whether the articles are defamatory or whether they were statements of fact and opinion.
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