Actress said to have been groped by Noel Clarke says it is untrue, court hears
Louise Dylan said she has never been touched inappropriately by Clarke and that she supports him.
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, 49, 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.
He 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 that 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.”
Speaking of the wrap party, she said: “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.”
Philip Williams, for 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.
The hearing before Mrs Justice Steyn is due to conclude in April, with a decision expected in writing at a later date.
