UK actor-director-producer Noel Clarke repeatedly asked a fan to meet for sex and groped her under a table at a public lunch, London’s High Court has heard in the latest testimony from a Guardian witness in Clarke’s libel claim against the UK newspaper.
Speaking today (March 24), the woman said she began exchanging messages with Clarke when she was 18, during which she sent him explicit pictures after responding to a (then)Twitter public post from Clarke on his feed asking for “naughty or cheeky” images, Naome Morris told the court.
Morris said she had been a fan of the BBC TV series Doctor Who in which Clarke starred between 2005-2010, and that the exchanges took place in 2010, Clarke would ask for nude pictures and if the woman would be willing to have sex with him.
In her witness statement, Morris said: “On February 13, Noel suggested I could come to London for his film screening and he hinted he might want to have sex with me on that occasion.”
Morris continued in her statement: “I told him I had not even kissed anyone and had no experience at all. He responded by saying that it made him feel like a dirty old man.”
Clarke also allegedly told the woman he would be honoured to have sex with her as “being a first is a big deal for a girl”.
The court heard that Morris suffered from agoraphobia and anxiety, did not attend the screening, and did not have sex with Clarke.
However, the court heard she then met him in May 2010 when he was in Birmingham for promotional events, during which time he invited a number of people for lunch at a Nando’s restaurant.
In her statement, Morris said: “He grabbed my leg under the table and squeezed my thigh – he put his hands in-between my legs in a sexual way.
“It was very quick but he did this several times. I didn’t know how to react as I was totally inexperienced. I did nothing. I froze up as I wasn’t expecting this.”
The hearing was also told that while posing for photographs, Clarke showed Morris a picture of his penis on his phone.
By autumn 2010, Clarke stopped messaging Morris with no explanation, which left her depressed and anxious about the situation, posting messages on Twitter which included hints about who was behind her stress, the court heard.
In November 2010, Clarke blocked Morris from emailing him, and shortly afterwards the police visited her home making inquiries in relation to allegations of harassment from Clarke, the High Court in London was told.
Clarke eventually took legal action against the woman, asking her to sign an agreement promising not to blog, or tell anyone, or even post indirect Tweets about him.
Philip Williams, representing Clarke, suggested to Morris she had been stalking the actor.
In his witness statement, Clarke said in February 2010 it was considered “normal or acceptable” for requests for “naughty” pictures to be made on Twitter.
He added: “I did not take advantage of her in any way, and did not pressure her into meeting or agreeing to a sexual relationship in any way.”
In relation to the allegations that he groped Morris in Nando’s, he said he would not have touched her leg “sexually at all”, “nor would I touch anyone sexually without their consent”, adding that he and the woman “never so much as kissed, let alone groped or touched in a sexual manner”.
Clarke, who is now aged 49, is suing Guardian News and Media (GNM), the publisher of the Guardian, 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.
The hearing before Mrs Justice Steyn is due to conclude in April, with a decision expected in writing at a later date.
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