False allegations resulted in Coronation Street actor suffering humiliation of having his character dismantled in public
The moment the jury foreman uttered the words "not guilty" Michael Le Vell should have felt vindicated and elated.
But the false allegations against Le Vell have left him a deeply wounded individual.
For 28 years he had been cocooned in the world of Britain's favourite soap opera, a television hero to millions of viewers.
But two years ago police called at his home to arrest him on suspicion of having repeatedly raped a young girl, as well as subjecting her to a series of other sexual attacks.
He did as much as any innocent man can do in such circumstances. He vehemently denied the accusations against him and began racking his brains about "incidents" that were supposed to have happened many years ago.
It was a storyline that would have stymied his Coronation Street alter ego, Kevin Webster.
In real life it proved almost unbearable, as the allegations condemned him to a life in limbo as the date of his trial edged closer.
Finally, over five days of evidence at Manchester crown court, he faced the humiliation of having his off-screen character dismantled in public.
True, the jury ultimately dismissed the claims of girl X and her mother but in proving his innocence, Le Vell suffered immeasurable torment as the rawest details about his private life – of "dark secrets", extramarital affairs, alcoholism and self-obsession – were revealed.
Eleanor Laws QC, prosecuting, dismantled his character more clinically than any Coronation Street scriptwriter could possibly have done.
She began gently enough: "It's not like an acting job, is it?" she asked.
"No," said Le Vell. "They never tell you how to stand up and face something like I've been faced with for the past two years. No one can tell you that. I'm just here … yes, I'm fighting for my life."
Diminutive, dapper, his hands clasped behind his back, he added: "It's a new experience for me, but I'm just here to tell the truth."
Laws reeled him in, intent on exposing any sign of frailty in his off-screen persona.
He was a weak man, she suggested, someone far more interested in his self-preservation and the trappings of stardom than those closest to him; a man whose idea of a happy marriage was to spend virtually every night of it drinking up to 12 pints in his local pub.
When Laws asked how he could hold his drink, Le Vell provoked mirth in the public gallery by recounting how he had once taken part in a programme intended to test the effects of alcohol and people's ability behind the wheel of a car.
"I was the heavy drinker on seven or eight pints and I passed with flying colours," he said.
On the set of Coronation Street he might have said it with a wink. In court it was delivered with more of a grimace.
From the witness box he admitted a series of one-night stands, confessing that these, rather than sexual assaults on a young girl, were his "dark secret". At the behest of Alisdair Williamson, defending, he even named one lover.
And on the subject of another infidelity, he told Laws: "It wasn't like a full-blown affair. It was more like a confidante. I was on my own and she was on her own. We were just friends."
Judge Michael Henshell intervened, asking Le Vell to clarify the position.
"Were you having an affair?" he asked bluntly.
"Yes," said Le Vell.
It got worse.
As the trial wore on, he was asked to describe his sex life. "Just normal," he said. "No fetishes, no tying up, no chains and whips or anything like that."
Later, the actor had to endure the humiliation of the jury – and thereafter the world – learning that he sometimes had trouble getting an erection.
And in the middle of a speech intended to convince the jury of his innocence, the actor's own barrister acknowledged: "He is a man, not a character; a weak man, a stupid man, a drunk man."
His travails had begun in September 2011, when his accuser disclosed details of the alleged abuse to her mother.
A few days later she went to police and gave three videolink interviews to detectives.
He had raped her on five occasions, she said, as well as fondling her and forcing her to touch his penis. During one of the rapes, she told police, she was clutching a teddy bear while Le Vell pressed another over her mouth.
He allegedly told her: "It's OK, just keep calm, stay asleep … I'm going to get rid of the evil."
Officers knocked on the actor's door at 7.45am on 30 September and took him to the custody suite at Manchester airport.
Det Con Neil Rothwell, who made the arrest, said in court: "I told him I was arresting him on suspicion of rape. He didn't make any reply."
The officer recalled going on to tell Le Vell that his accuser had given her account of the story, and now it was now his opportunity to give his.
"There's no account and no story," said Le Vell.
Rothwell went on: "Are you responsible for raping X?"
Le Vell replied: "No, not at all … I don't know where these allegations have come from … Didn't happen, didn't happen … never in a million years."
Asked why the girl would have made such allegations, he replied: "All I can think of is if she's hurt or wants more drama in her life. I've not got a clue.
"I just can't fathom where it's come from. I wouldn't do it. I couldn't do it."
He later said the allegations had left him "walking around in a daze".
They amounted to "a life-changing thing", he said, and could cost him his job.
Le Vell's acquittal means that as an actor he will no doubt continue to don a car mechanic's overalls in Corrie for many years to come.
But away from the set, he knows there has been a shift in the public's perception of him.
Thanks to the unscripted drama that unfolded in court three, he knows that the aura of invincibility and stardom that once cocooned him has been stripped bare. Reported by guardian.co.uk 8 hours ago.
The moment the jury foreman uttered the words "not guilty" Michael Le Vell should have felt vindicated and elated.
But the false allegations against Le Vell have left him a deeply wounded individual.
For 28 years he had been cocooned in the world of Britain's favourite soap opera, a television hero to millions of viewers.
But two years ago police called at his home to arrest him on suspicion of having repeatedly raped a young girl, as well as subjecting her to a series of other sexual attacks.
He did as much as any innocent man can do in such circumstances. He vehemently denied the accusations against him and began racking his brains about "incidents" that were supposed to have happened many years ago.
It was a storyline that would have stymied his Coronation Street alter ego, Kevin Webster.
In real life it proved almost unbearable, as the allegations condemned him to a life in limbo as the date of his trial edged closer.
Finally, over five days of evidence at Manchester crown court, he faced the humiliation of having his off-screen character dismantled in public.
True, the jury ultimately dismissed the claims of girl X and her mother but in proving his innocence, Le Vell suffered immeasurable torment as the rawest details about his private life – of "dark secrets", extramarital affairs, alcoholism and self-obsession – were revealed.
Eleanor Laws QC, prosecuting, dismantled his character more clinically than any Coronation Street scriptwriter could possibly have done.
She began gently enough: "It's not like an acting job, is it?" she asked.
"No," said Le Vell. "They never tell you how to stand up and face something like I've been faced with for the past two years. No one can tell you that. I'm just here … yes, I'm fighting for my life."
Diminutive, dapper, his hands clasped behind his back, he added: "It's a new experience for me, but I'm just here to tell the truth."
Laws reeled him in, intent on exposing any sign of frailty in his off-screen persona.
He was a weak man, she suggested, someone far more interested in his self-preservation and the trappings of stardom than those closest to him; a man whose idea of a happy marriage was to spend virtually every night of it drinking up to 12 pints in his local pub.
When Laws asked how he could hold his drink, Le Vell provoked mirth in the public gallery by recounting how he had once taken part in a programme intended to test the effects of alcohol and people's ability behind the wheel of a car.
"I was the heavy drinker on seven or eight pints and I passed with flying colours," he said.
On the set of Coronation Street he might have said it with a wink. In court it was delivered with more of a grimace.
From the witness box he admitted a series of one-night stands, confessing that these, rather than sexual assaults on a young girl, were his "dark secret". At the behest of Alisdair Williamson, defending, he even named one lover.
And on the subject of another infidelity, he told Laws: "It wasn't like a full-blown affair. It was more like a confidante. I was on my own and she was on her own. We were just friends."
Judge Michael Henshell intervened, asking Le Vell to clarify the position.
"Were you having an affair?" he asked bluntly.
"Yes," said Le Vell.
It got worse.
As the trial wore on, he was asked to describe his sex life. "Just normal," he said. "No fetishes, no tying up, no chains and whips or anything like that."
Later, the actor had to endure the humiliation of the jury – and thereafter the world – learning that he sometimes had trouble getting an erection.
And in the middle of a speech intended to convince the jury of his innocence, the actor's own barrister acknowledged: "He is a man, not a character; a weak man, a stupid man, a drunk man."
His travails had begun in September 2011, when his accuser disclosed details of the alleged abuse to her mother.
A few days later she went to police and gave three videolink interviews to detectives.
He had raped her on five occasions, she said, as well as fondling her and forcing her to touch his penis. During one of the rapes, she told police, she was clutching a teddy bear while Le Vell pressed another over her mouth.
He allegedly told her: "It's OK, just keep calm, stay asleep … I'm going to get rid of the evil."
Officers knocked on the actor's door at 7.45am on 30 September and took him to the custody suite at Manchester airport.
Det Con Neil Rothwell, who made the arrest, said in court: "I told him I was arresting him on suspicion of rape. He didn't make any reply."
The officer recalled going on to tell Le Vell that his accuser had given her account of the story, and now it was now his opportunity to give his.
"There's no account and no story," said Le Vell.
Rothwell went on: "Are you responsible for raping X?"
Le Vell replied: "No, not at all … I don't know where these allegations have come from … Didn't happen, didn't happen … never in a million years."
Asked why the girl would have made such allegations, he replied: "All I can think of is if she's hurt or wants more drama in her life. I've not got a clue.
"I just can't fathom where it's come from. I wouldn't do it. I couldn't do it."
He later said the allegations had left him "walking around in a daze".
They amounted to "a life-changing thing", he said, and could cost him his job.
Le Vell's acquittal means that as an actor he will no doubt continue to don a car mechanic's overalls in Corrie for many years to come.
But away from the set, he knows there has been a shift in the public's perception of him.
Thanks to the unscripted drama that unfolded in court three, he knows that the aura of invincibility and stardom that once cocooned him has been stripped bare. Reported by guardian.co.uk 8 hours ago.