A woman has told a court that she “didn’t really feel like I had a choice” as she was allegedly raped in a car by “overpowering” Top Boy actor Micheal Ward. The Bafta-winning actor is on trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court, accused of raping the woman after meeting her at a nightclub in east London.
Ward, 28, who starred in Blue Story and Top Boy, denies two counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration, and one count of sexual assault against the woman on January 2, 2023. The alleged victim told police in an interview played to jurors that Ward gave her specific instructions to walk behind him and not to talk to anyone as they went to a car at an afterparty in Stratford, London.
Alleged Assault Details Emerge in Court
In the police interview on January 13, 2023, the woman said: “I tried to leave the vehicle and he told me to close the door.” She described the alleged assault, quoting Ward as saying: “If I tell you to do it, you do it.” The woman told police she felt “numb” and “scared”, remembering “wanting it all to be over”. She added: “I didn’t really feel like I had a choice. I said I didn’t want to do it.”
In a second interview on July 29, 2024, also played to jurors, the woman said: “He didn’t respect what I was saying. All he cared about was what he wanted.” She described Ward as “overpowering”, noting that “as soon as he made me get into the back of the car, the atmosphere completely changed.” The woman, who cried during the interviews, added: “I genuinely believed if I did what he asked I could leave. I just didn’t feel like I had a choice but to be there.”
Phone Messages and Attraction Discussed
The woman acknowledged sending phone messages to Ward after the alleged assaults, which she initially did not hand over to police. She said: “I don’t know why I chose to hide from them that we had a conversation after it happened.” She explained she was “embarrassed” and “didn’t really feel like I had an explanation as to why I replied.”
Under cross-examination by Ward’s barrister, Sallie Bennett-Jenkins KC, the woman admitted she found the actor attractive, stating: “I won’t deny that I did find him attractive.” She said she was aware Ward was in multiple TV shows and movies but did not know the party setup. Discussing conversations at the nightclub in Gants Hill, east London, she said: “I can’t remember exact comments, maybe some comments were flirty. He was more flirty than I was… He made comments that made me feel uncomfortable.” The woman, 23 at the time, said she attended the afterparty with friends to “use the toilet”.
Ward's Background and Denial
Ward, born in Jamaica, won the Bafta Rising Star award in 2020 and was nominated for best supporting actor Bafta for his role in BBC’s Small Axe (2021) and the 2022 film Empire of Light. He played in the Soccer Aid match at Stamford Bridge in 2024 and gave a reading at the Princess of Wales’ Christmas Eve carol service in 2023. He also appeared in the American film Eddington alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal, released in March 2025. Ward was arrested on January 18, 2023, and told police in a prepared statement: “I deny the allegation of rape. I want to put on record that we had consensual foreplay and consensual sex.” The trial continues.
