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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Co-star 'did not know about porn' | Co-star 'did not know about porn' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Comedian Paul Whitehouse has told a court he had no knowledge of co-star Chris Langham using child pornography as research for a drama series. | Comedian Paul Whitehouse has told a court he had no knowledge of co-star Chris Langham using child pornography as research for a drama series. |
| The Fast Show star co-wrote and starred in the BBC drama Help, in which he played different patients seen by a psychiatrist played by Mr Langham. | The Fast Show star co-wrote and starred in the BBC drama Help, in which he played different patients seen by a psychiatrist played by Mr Langham. |
| Mr Langham, 58, from Kent, denies indecent assault and a serious sexual offence on a girl under 18. | Mr Langham, 58, from Kent, denies indecent assault and a serious sexual offence on a girl under 18. |
| He also denies 15 counts of making an indecent image of a child in 2005. | He also denies 15 counts of making an indecent image of a child in 2005. |
| Mr Langham's defence counsel has claimed he downloaded child pornography images for research while writing Help. | Mr Langham's defence counsel has claimed he downloaded child pornography images for research while writing Help. |
| 'Discussion of sex' | |
| Prosecutor Richard Barraclough QC asked Mr Whitehouse at Maidstone Crown Court: "Did Mr Langham ever discuss with you that he was undertaking any research for the shows?" | |
| "Not to my knowledge, no," Mr Whitehouse replied. | "Not to my knowledge, no," Mr Whitehouse replied. |
| Mr Barraclough asked if there had been any discussion in the series of explicit sex with little girls. | |
| Chris Langham denies the charges against him | |
| "Absolutely not," Mr Whitehouse replied. | |
| "Can you help the jury, did Mr Langham tell you that he had been researching things like that?" | |
| "No," Mr Whitehouse replied. | |
| He said he came up with the idea of a character called Pedro, for the second series of Help, as "some kind of sex offender, like a peeping Tom or a flasher or possibly even something worse". | |
| Mr Barraclough said: "So the suggestion for the character came from you?" | |
| "Yes," Mr Whitehouse replied. | |
| "Was there anything Mr Langham wanted the character to do?" Mr Barraclough asked. | |
| "I can remember a couple of incidents where it was implied he had rubbed up against someone on a train," Mr Whitehouse replied. | |
| Mr Barraclough asked him: "Did you discuss any additional sketches where this character revealed himself to have been abused as a child or confessing to sexually assaulting a child that he's been grooming?" | |
| "No," Mr Whitehouse replied. | |
| The actor, dressed in a blue suit, black tie and white shirt, spent 30 minutes giving evidence. | |
| The trial continues. | The trial continues. |