On April 29th, The Guardian released a bombshell expose on Doctor Who and Kidulthood star, Noel Clarke. The news has rocked the British TV industry, where Noel Clarke has always been highly regarded for his work towards diversity and representation in the TV business. This comes just 2 weeks after Clarke won the BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema award.
Who is Noel Clarke?
Noel Clarke is an actor, director, writer and producer, whose net worth is estimated at £2.8 million. He is known for his role as Mickey in Doctor Who, as well as for producing and acting in Kidulthood, Viewpoint and Adulthood. Throughout his career, he has worked to improve diversity for actors, writers and producers.
What were the allegations against Noel Clarke?
Content warning: sexual harassment.
The allegations come from 20 women, and The Guardian article contained both on and off-the-record testimony. They range from inappropriate touching to unwanted sexual images and secretly filming an actress nude. Noel Clarke has since denied all but one of the allegations.
Gina Powell, one of the women, worked for Clarke as a producer on Brotherhood between September 2014 and March 2017. She told The Guardian that Clarke would harass her constantly and that he had told her he had planned to ‘fuck her and fire her’ before deciding against it. She has also accused Clarke of bragging about sexually explicit pictures and videos on his hard drive, including footage he had secretly filmed during nude auditions.
One of the videos featured actress Jahannah James, who worked alongside Clarke and Powell in Brotherhood. Powell was able to describe the exact haircut Jahanna James had during the audition, which differs from her usual long blonde hair after a ‘hair disaster’ which caused her to crop it short. James has recalled that Clarke persuaded her to audition at 23, fresh out of drama school. Both he and her agent confirmed that the nude audition would not be filmed. She pulled out of the role after the audition, not wanting her first role to be naked.
Clarke helped the same actress get into drama school when she was 22, and got her a discount on her fees, and had joked with her about having sex when they were meeting. She said that she and others were ‘young and naive’ when he gave them professional opportunities, and that’s why people have stayed quiet for so long.
Another allegation comes from Norweigan film producer Synne Seltveit, who met Clarke in July 2015. They went to a martial arts fight in Glasgow, and at the afterparty, Clarke smacked her buttocks. He went on to send her pictures of his naked erect penis on Snapchat.
Ieva Savaliauskaite, a production assistant, has also alleged that Clarke took a picture of her dancing wherein her underwear was visible.
Several women also allege that Clarke would kiss them, grope them or subject them to unsolicited sexual behaviour. This includes Powell, who alleges that he once exposed himself in a car to her. To which she recalls telling him, ‘Noel, that’s not right’. He then proceeded to scold her for her reaction, and he groped her in a lift.
Another woman, who starred in Kidulthood, was a teenager when she auditioned and was intimidated by Clarke. She reports that when filming, Clarke ‘put his tongue in [her] mouth’, and from then on would grab her on set, touch her waist, try to kiss her. She was scared to speak up because of her age. When Clarke wrote Adulthood, he asked this girl to appear in the sequel. Within the script there was a full-on sex scene with Noel, and she did not feel safe with the scene.
Anna Avramenko was an intern when Clarke approached her on set and tried to kiss her in front of everyone. She turned her cheek, told him she had a boyfriend, and yet he tried numerous more times.
Jing Lusi, actress from Crazy Rich Asians alleges that they went out to dinner, Noel called for the bill before she’d finished eating and matter-of-factly stated he wanted to have sex with her. She said no, and his demeanour changed, he told her not to tell anyone.
More, and worse, allegations are available to read on The Guardian, with cases of bullying, harassment and mistreatment.
What has happened since?
Since the allegations, Noel Clarke’s US managers have dropped him. BAFTA has rescinded his award, and he has been removed from the show Viewpoint.
He has categorically denied all allegations, except one part of one woman’s accusation. He has said he will seek help, but that he is not a sexual predator like The Guardian’s article laments.
