DLT 'Victim' Recalled Over Smoking Claim

By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent

A TV personality who claims Dave Lee Travis grabbed her breasts has been recalled to his trial to give more evidence.

The woman, who worked on the Mrs Merton show in 1995, described in her earlier testimony how she was smoking in a corridor in the BBC Manchester studios where the programme was recorded.

She said Travis, who was a guest on the spoof chat show, approached her and said: "You mustn't smoke. Think of your poor little lungs." 

The witness said the DJ then grabbed her breasts for between 10 and 15 seconds.

Travis is accused of two indecent assaults and one sexual assault - all of which he denies. He was acquitted of a number of similar charges at a trial earlier in the year.

Defence barrister Steven Vullo QC asked the woman to return to court to answer questions after establishing that the BBC had a non-smoking policy in place during the 1990s.

The witness said that people did smoke near the studios because both Caroline Ahern, the star and writer of the show, as well as many of her celebrity guests were smokers.

"It just wasn't the culture then that people were expected to go outside to smoke," she told the court.

"The idea of asking celebrity guests to go to the designated smoking room just wasn't done."

Dave Lee Travis arrives in court with his wife Marianne

She recalled how one guest, the racing pundit John McCririck, smoked strong cigars, and said that nobody ever told them not to smoke in the corridors.

The trial also heard from a producer of the pantomime at which Travis is alleged to have groped an assistant stage manager.

Nicholas Thomas described how the DJ was an "exemplary" employee who had appeared in five of his shows over the years.

He had contacted Travis' solicitor of his own volition when he read about the accusation in the newspapers.

"I am aware of the allegation. It is complete nonsense," he told the jury.

Mr Thomas denied there was an unofficial policy of chaperoning female members of staff who came into contact with Travis at the Aladdin pantomime in Crawley in 1990.

"The ratio of female to male employees was such that there was nobody to do such a task," he added. 

Mr Thomas also insisted he would have been told if there had been complaints, and would have taken the accusations seriously.

"Dave didn't mix with the cast," he said.

"He spent his time in his dressing room. I saw him puffing on a pipe and reading a newspaper. At the end of the production he would climb into his car with his make-up still on and drive home. He was quite reserved and un-theatrical."

The Crown barrister Miranda Moore QC is now making her closing speech to the jury, who are expected to be sent out to consider their verdicts on Thursday.

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