Veteran BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall is due in court on Friday charged with historic sex offences. The 83-year-old will appear at Preston Crown Court for the first time, facing one count of rape and 14 offences of indecent assault.
The alleged rape is said to have occurred in 1976, involving a 22-year-old woman. The 14 other charges of indecent assault relate to 10 girls aged between nine and 16, with offences alleged to have taken place between 1967 and 1986.
Friday’s hearing is expected to deal with largely administrative matters ahead of a forthcoming trial. Hall's case was sent to the crown court after he appeared before magistrates in Preston last month.
The former It's A Knockout presenter has previously pleaded not guilty to three separate indecent assault charges from 1974 to 1984. After his magistrates' court appearance, he said he might have considered suicide had it not been for his family, and described the allegations as “pernicious, callous, cruel and, above all, spurious”. He vowed to clear his name and restore his reputation.
Hall, who lives in Wilmslow, Cheshire, has been a familiar face and voice in British broadcasting for half a century and was awarded an OBE in the New Year honours. His eccentric football match summaries made him a cult figure on BBC Radio 5 Live.
