Daily Mail

Now a third woman has accused British star of a Hollywood sex attack

- By Alisha Rouse Showbusine­ss Correspond­ent

A THIRD woman has accused British actor Ed Westwick of sexual assault.

The allegation came as Westwick, 30, finally emerged from his week-long stay at £330-anight retreat in Oxfordshir­e.

He and his model girlfriend had been staying at the members-only Soho Farmhouse after two actresses accused the BBC star of rape last week.

But yesterday Hollywood assistant Rachel Eck claimed the Gossip Girl actor had ‘pushed her on to a bed and groped her’ the night before the 2014 Oscars.

She claims an ex-boyfriend had invited her to his Los Angeles villa where Westwick became increasing­ly ‘handsy’ and tried to kiss her. She said he later pushed her down on to a bed when she was trying to leave and ‘aggressive­ly groped her’.

Actresses Kristina Cohen and Aurélie Wynn last week accused Westwick of raping them in the same year. Westwick has strenuousl­y denied the allegation­s and has vowed to ‘clear his name’,

The accusation­s have caused a crisis at the BBC, which planned to show a multi-million pound Agatha Christie adaptation starring Westwick – who also appears in BBC2 drama White Gold – over Christmas. The threepart adaptation of Ordeal By Innocence, also starring Bill Nighy and Eleanor Tomlinson, was due to start on Boxing Day.

Its prime-time slot would have made it one of the corporatio­n’s biggest Christmas ratings successes but it has been pulled from the schedules ‘until these matters are resolved’.

Westwick got his big break in 2007 when he landed the role of playboy Chuck Bass in US teen drama Gossip Girl. Yesterday his girlfriend, American model Jessica Serfaty, 26, shared a video of the couple after their week-long stay at celebrity hot spot Soho Farmhouse, set in 100 acres near Chipping Norton.

Miss Serfaty’s video, which featured a cheerful Westwick winking at the camera, was captioned: ‘Before the horserides, the breakfast in bed, table tennis, hikes, mud fights and bikes it took a two hour drive to make it to our destinatio­n.

‘ Thank you Ed Westwick for always making moments so special for us.’ Last night she had deleted the video from her social media. In a statement, the BBC said: ‘These are serious allegation­s which Ed Westwick has strenuousl­y denied. The BBC is not making any judgment but until these matters are resolved we will not include Ordeal by Innocence in the schedules.

‘The independen­t production company making White Gold has informed us that Ed Westwick has paused from filming while he deals with these allegation­s.’ Representa­tives for Westwick did not respond to requests for comment.

 ??  ?? Week-long retreat: Ed Westwick and girlfriend Jessica Serfaty
Week-long retreat: Ed Westwick and girlfriend Jessica Serfaty
 ??  ?? Groping allegation: Hollywood assistant Rachel Eck
Groping allegation: Hollywood assistant Rachel Eck
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