A woman who accused actor Noel Clarke of sexual misconduct told the High Court that she came forward after years of “guilt” over witnessing his alleged behaviour towards other women.
Gina Powell, a former colleague at Clarke’s production company Unstoppable, gave evidence in his legal claim against The Guardian’s publisher, Guardian News and Media (GNM). Clarke, 49, is suing the newspaper over a series of articles and a podcast published in 2021, which featured allegations from 20 women. The reports accused him of sexual harassment, bullying, and inappropriate behaviour in professional settings. Clarke denies all claims and argues that some of the accusations are part of a conspiracy to ruin his reputation.
Allegations of misconduct
Powell, who worked with Clarke between 2014 and 2017, told the court that he had groped her in an elevator, exposed himself to her in a car, and dismissed concerns about his conduct towards other women. She also alleged that Clarke kept a hard drive containing explicit images of other people.
“I did not lead from the front,” she told the court. “I said there were some women that I felt uncomfortable, and there were so many, many women throughout the years who were like that.”
She claimed that she had struggled with guilt over not speaking up sooner and that seeing her friend Johannah Whyte come forward with allegations against Clarke had given her the strength to do the same.
“The guilt that I was complicit in seeing the things that Noel was doing – it was eating me up for many, many years,” she said. “This was my way of saying, ‘I am putting action behind my words.’”
Defence challenges claims
Clarke’s barrister, Philip Williams, cross-examined Powell, suggesting she had encouraged others to make allegations against Clarke and had set up an anonymous email address to facilitate this.
“You were doing everything you could to get as many people as possible to come forward, and you embellished in the emails, didn’t you?” he asked.
Powell denied the claim, insisting she had not led a campaign against Clarke but had simply wanted to share her own experience.
“I was not doing everything I could,” she said. “I was incredibly engrossed in my own grief and trauma at the time. It took a long time for me to be able to pull myself together to do anything.”
Alleged unsolicited messages
The court also heard from Synne Seltveit, another woman who had met Clarke through Powell. She alleged that Clarke had sent her an unsolicited image of a penis via a messaging app.
“I was shocked that he sent this to me,” she said in her witness statement. “I knew if I took a screenshot of the picture, he would know I had done it, as the app facilitated this, so I instinctively asked the friend I was with – who was just in the next room – to take a photo of the screen with her phone.”
Clarke denied the claim, stating in his witness statement: “I did not send her an unsolicited photograph of my penis.”
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Clarke’s defence and counterclaims
Clarke maintains that the allegations against him are false and part of a coordinated effort to damage his career. He argues that any explicit images in his possession were obtained consensually.
In written submissions, his barrister, Williams, accused Powell of being a “primary conspirator” in an attempt to defame Clarke.
“Alongside other conspirators, Ms Powell also actively sought or encouraged a police investigation and/or criminal charges against the claimant on the basis of false allegations, thereby perverting the course of justice,” he said. “Their goal in this common enterprise was to defame the claimant and cause him irreparable harm with regards to his reputation.”
Trial ongoing
The hearing before Mrs Justice Steyn is expected to conclude in April, with a final ruling to be delivered in writing at a later date.
Clarke, who rose to fame in Doctor Who and Kidulthood, has faced significant professional fallout since The Guardian’s reports, including losing business deals and being dropped by production partners.
GNM continues to defend its reporting, arguing that the allegations were verified and in the public interest.
