Comic Rory on ‘stalk’ charge
He pestered married woman for fourteen months, court is told
COMEDIAN Rory McGrath has appeared in court accused of stalking a married woman for 14 months.
The 60-year-old star is alleged to have harassed the victim despite complaints from the woman, her husband and the police, a court heard.
McGrath made his name on BBC panel show They Think It’s All Over and the channel’s Three Men in a Boat series, starring with Dara Ó Briain and Griff Rhys Jones.
His alleged stalking is said to include sending the woman messages and approaching her in the street.
Distasteful
He is also said to have approached the woman and her husband in public and sent letters to the victim’s husband, it was said.
Prosecutors described the allegations “striking and distasteful”.
McGrath appeared at Cambridgeshire Magistrates’ Court in Huntingdon yesterday.
Wearing a black coat, green T-shirt and black trousers, he was asked to confirm his name and address.
He then entered a not guilty plea to a charge of stalking against a woman.
His alleged victim cannot be named for legal reasons.
McGrath, who’s from Cambridge, is accused of harassing his unnamed victim in the city between June last year and August this year.
Prosecutor Anthea Harris said: “It is a stalking offence which continued over a 14-month period.
“There are a number of aggravating features, these are features which are deliberate and show evidence of pre-planning.
“The tenure (of the allegations) is striking and distasteful.’
McGrath was granted conditional bail which bans him from contacting the victim or visiting an address in Cambridge.
He is due to stand trial in January.