Noel Clarke, the actor best known for playing Mickey Smith in “Doctor Who,” has been formally charged with six sexual offenses following a yearlong Metropolitan Police investigation. The Crown Prosecution Service authorized the charges Wednesday after reviewing a file of evidence submitted by detectives, bringing a criminal case against the 50-year-old actor for the first time since allegations against him first surfaced five years ago.
Clarke faces two counts of sexual assault, three counts of voyeurism and one count of exposure. The charges relate to alleged incidents involving five women between 2007 and 2016. He is scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on October 21.
Bethan David, deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS London, said prosecutors determined there was sufficient evidence to bring the case and that doing so served the public interest. Detective Superintendent Mike Cagney, who leads the investigation, said the women connected to the case are receiving support from specially trained officers and encouraged other potential victims of sexual assault to come forward.
The charges cap a long and turbulent legal saga for Clarke, whose Kensington home was searched by detectives last September, when he was arrested and questioned before being released while the investigation continued. That inquiry, run by the Met’s central specialist crime command, followed years of scrutiny that began in April 2021, when The Guardian published claims from roughly 20 women alleging groping, harassment, inappropriate comments and bullying spanning much of Clarke’s career. The fallout was immediate: BAFTA stripped him of a lifetime achievement honor, Sky dropped his series “Bulletproof,” and ITV pulled a scheduled broadcast of “Viewpoint.”
Clarke has consistently denied wrongdoing. He sued The Guardian’s publisher for libel over its reporting, but a High Court judge ruled against him earlier this year, finding the outlet’s coverage substantially true. “I am not the person described in these articles,” he said afterward.
An earlier police assessment in 2022 concluded a third-party report against Clarke did not meet the threshold for a criminal investigation, though officers noted new allegations could still be examined. This week’s charges mark the first time prosecutors have determined a criminal case can proceed.
Clarke has not yet issued a public statement addressing the new charges. Under British law, he retains the presumption of innocence unless convicted.
