Actor Iain Robertson was “emotionally controlling and manipulative” before later becoming violent, a woman has told a court. The former River City star is alleged to have behaved in a “threatening or abusive manner” towards the woman on multiple occasions between December 2013 and July 2015. He is also charged with assaulting her on two occasions in 2014.
The 45-year-old is further charged with raping another woman “on various occasions” between 2018 and 2019, as well as offences involving two other women. Robertson denies a total of eight charges over a 16-year period from 2004 to 2020.
Woman’s Testimony
Giving evidence at the High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday, one of the women said she met Robertson in 2012 or 2013, just as she was coming to the end of drama school. Addressing the trial by video-link, the 40-year-old said Robertson was initially “quite charming” but his behaviour soon changed.
“His behaviour became quite controlling, emotionally controlling, manipulative,” she said. “Over time that would escalate and there would be threats of physical violence and then eventually physical violence.”
She said he tried to “wedge (her) apart” from people she was close to, including her friends and mother, saying he used to “pick an argument” whenever she was due to meet them. She also described him as a “violent alcoholic”, saying he drank “a lot” and was “in and out” of Alcoholics Anonymous throughout their relationship.
She said if he was around when he was drunk he would speak to her in an “aggressive, disrespectful” way, making her feel “awful”. “He would call me a bitch, and he would just be derogatory,” she said. Asked to describe his tone, she said: “Harsh – like venom, is the best adjective I can think to describe it. Almost like you are spitting the words.”
Incidents on Holiday
She said in 2013 the pair had gone on holiday to a cabin in north-east Scotland, and that Robertson “drank a lot throughout the whole trip”. She recounted one occasion during the trip when they had been on their way to a tourist spot. “He was driving, we were in the car somewhere and he started shouting at me,” she said. “I think it was over directions, he just flew off the handle and flung the car around.”
She said she had been “really scared” as she was “trapped” in his car with him. “It was really obvious to me I was in a dangerous situation with this person, both in the car… but also in a wider sense in the relationship.”
Physical Assaults
She also recounted an argument in September 2014 when Robertson become “threatening” and “aggressive”. She told the court: “I was scared and something happened where I was cowering because I thought he was going to hit me. When he saw that he said ‘if you think I am going to hit you then I will hit you’, and he lunged at me. I fell on to the bed and had my hands and arms over my head.” She told the court he then left the room – but despite being “so afraid” she did not know how to get out of his flat, so she pretended to be asleep.
She also recounted an incident in December 2014 when she said the pair had been having an argument and she had “ended up on the floor”. She told the court: “He dragged me by my hair from the bedroom out into the hall. I was trying to make it stop, I was trying to grab on to anything to make it stop.” She said once he let go she stood up and told him “we are finished, it’s over”.
The woman said she broke off the relationship in early 2015, when he reacted badly to her going on a night out with new colleagues, and Robertson then sent her an “obsessive amount” of phone calls and texts, and later emails.
Defence Disputes
Robertson’s lawyer, Gary Allan KC, disputed that the alleged assaults had taken place at all. He put forward a different account of both events, which she rejected. The lawyer also disputed that his client had behaved in a “controlling” or “manipulative” manner towards her, suggesting that Robertson had been “entitled” to dislike her friends and family.
Second Alleged Victim’s Testimony
On Tuesday afternoon, the court heard evidence from another of Robertson’s alleged victims, whom he is accused of assaulting “on various occasions”, and towards whom he is accused of acting in a “disorderly” manner. She told the court that “over time” Robertson began acting in a “controlling manner” towards her. The 48-year-old said she was not “allowed” to meet friends or colleagues, and that Robertson would start arguments just as she was about to leave to meet them. She also said that, when drunk, he would be verbally abusive towards her and, at times, he behaved in a physically aggressive way.
She gave one example in 2007 of having been doing some work at home, with papers spread out on the kitchen floor, while he was “sat drinking” in the front room. She told the court: “He had a bottle of wine in his hand and he just comes up, didn’t say anything, and just poured it over myself and the (papers).” She also recounted an incident later that year when an argument between them “escalated” rapidly, during which he punched the fridge, leaving dents in it. “It was at this point I was pretty much being chased around the house,” she said. “I was trying to get away.”
The trial, before Lady Drummond, continues.
