A reality television personality and his husband have been formally accused of numerous sexual offences, encompassing rape and human trafficking for sexual exploitation. Barrie Drewitt-Barlow, who initially gained public recognition as one of 'Britain's first gay fathers' and was slated to feature in the ITV reality programme Up The Jammers, was taken into custody alongside his spouse Scott following a police operation at their residence in Essex.
Essex Police have confirmed that officers from their Serious Crime Directorate executed searches at several properties owned by the couple across the county on 6 May. Subsequent to these searches, Essex Police stated: 'We can now confirm that 57-year-old Barrie Drewitt-Barlow and 32-year-old Scott Drewitt-Barlow, both of Southwood Chase, Danbury, have both been charged with multiple offences including rape, sexual assault, and modern slavery trafficking for sexual exploitation.'
In an official statement, Christian Meikle of the Crown Prosecution Service remarked: 'The Crown Prosecution Service has decided to charge Barrie Drewitt-Barlow and Scott Drewitt-Barlow following a police investigation into alleged human trafficking for sexual exploitation and rape. Barrie Drewitt-Barlow and Scott Drewitt-Barlow have each been charged with arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view to exploitation, as well as other sexual offences, including rape. We have worked closely with Essex Police as it carried out its investigation.'
The two individuals are scheduled to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court today (8 May) after being detained for questioning by detectives. Detective Inspector Lydia George, who is leading the investigation, said: 'If anyone has any information they feel ready to share with us, I would ask them to contact us via the Major Incident Public Portal (MIPP) and the investigation team will provide you with any specialist support required.'
Drewitt-Barlow first came to prominence as one of Britain's first gay fathers, after he and his then-partner Tony welcomed their twins, Saffron and Aspen, in 1999. The couple managed to have both same-sex parents listed on the birth certificates as 'Parent One' and 'Parent Two' rather than the conventional 'mother and father'. Each man fathered one of the twins, and the identity of which father corresponds to which child has never been publicly disclosed. Drewitt-Barlow has appeared on various daytime television programmes to discuss his story.
He was also set to appear in the forthcoming ITV reality show Up The Jammers. The series was intended to focus on the millionaire's experiences running the non-league football club Maldon & Tiptree, and was expected to debut on screens next week. However, the programme has been cancelled amid the police investigation. Without any formal announcement, ITV4 has replaced the documentary with a wrestling show in the same time slot. An ITV spokesperson informed The Mirror: 'ITV has decided to remove Up The Jammers from the upcoming schedule. It will no longer be shown on ITV4 or ITVX as previously advertised.'
Drewitt-Barlow and his former husband separated in 2019, after it was revealed that Drewitt-Barlow had fallen in love with his daughter Scarlett's ex-boyfriend, Scott Hutchinson.
