A woman has told a court that she felt she had no choice as she was raped in a car by “overpowering” Top Boy actor Micheal Ward. The alleged victim described how the Bafta-winning star allegedly assaulted her after meeting at a nightclub in east London.
Alleged Assault Details
Ward, 28, is on trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court accused of raping the woman on January 2 2023. He denies two counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration, and one count of sexual assault. The court heard that after an afterparty in Stratford, London, Ward asked the woman to go to a car to talk, instructing her to walk behind him and not speak to anyone en route.
In a police interview played to jurors, the alleged victim said: “I tried to leave the vehicle and he told me to close the door.” She described Ward as “overpowering”, adding: “As soon as he made me get into the back of the car, the atmosphere completely changed.”
Woman’s Testimony
The woman told police: “He said: ‘If I tell you to do it, you do it.’” She said 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 cried as she spoke, adding: “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 Background
Discussing phone messages she sent to Ward after the alleged assaults, which were initially not handed over to police, the woman said: “I don’t know why I chose to hide from them that we had a conversation after it happened.” She said she was “embarrassed”, adding: “I just didn’t really feel like I had an explanation as to why I replied.”
Ward, who won the Bafta rising star honour in 2020 and was nominated for best supporting actor for Small Axe in 2021 and Empire of Light in 2022, also played in Soccer Aid in 2024 and read at the Princess of Wales’s Christmas Eve carol service in 2023. He appeared in the American film Eddington, released in August 2025.
Arrest and Denial
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.
