Noel Clarke sues the Baftas after he was stripped of award over sexual assault claims

The actor and director Noel Clarke is suing Bafta and claims he has fallen victim to “modern McCarthyism”.

Accused of multiple instances of bullying and sexually inappropriate behaviour over a 15-year period, Mr Clarke was stripped of a Bafta award last year just nine days after receiving it.

Denying allegations of sexual assault, Mr Clarke told the The Mail on Sunday: “There has been no arrest, no charges, no trial, no verdict, but I have been criminalised. This is a form of modern McCarthyism.”

The newspaper reported that Mr Clarke is suing Bafta, the film and TV charity that runs the Bafta awards, for defamation. Mr Clarke sat for nine years on Bafta’s film committee.

In a statement, Bafta said: "A year ago, Bafta was transparent about what led to Mr Clarke’s award and membership being suspended following serious accusations of groping, harassment and bullying by 20 women published by The Guardian. We stand by our decision and are very surprised by the news he now wishes to sue the arts charity. If proceedings are served, we will of course defend ourselves."

'No longer about films'

He asked: “At what point did the broadcasters in this country become the judges, juries and executioners of people? At what point did Bafta decide they were no longer about films, but they were about judging people’s lives?”

Mr Clarke is also suing publisher Conde Nast, the newspaper reported, over an article in GQ magazine about the allegations. He is additionally suing the Guardian, which reported in April 2021 that 20 women had between them made allegations of groping, harassment and bullying. The allegations included a claim that Mr Clarke had secretly filmed a naked audition, and that he had shown colleagues sexually explicit photos and videos.

The 46-year-old’s career is now in tatters. Mr Clarke’s police drama, Bulletproof, was ditched by Sky and the finale of his ITV thriller Viewpoint was posted quietly online rather than broadcast on TV.

Mr Clarke said that he had considered suicide. “I was out of here. I didn’t care about anything. My mind was destroyed.”

He denied allegations that he had harassed, groped and exposed himself to Gina Powell, a producer. Ms Powell also claimed that Mr Clarke had shown her a secretly filmed video of the actress Jahannah James. Mr Clarke said: “I never showed Gina a video of Jahannah James naked, because I never had one.”

Saying he is “not a predator”, Mr Clarke added: “I’ve been a regular dude, for sure, I flirt. Have I ever made a saucy comment? One hundred per cent. But not to the extent that it warranted the destruction of my life.”