After Life producer Charlie Hanson has been removed from Ricky Gervais’ Netflix show after he was hit with sexual misconduct claims.
The producer faces allegations from 11 women, though he has denied the claims.
Golden Globe winner Hanson, aged 68, has rejected any suggestion of wrongdoing on his part after the claims were made public last weekend.
Now he has been dropped from the programme and had his BAFTA membership suspended.
Netflix released a statement which read: “On Monday, we received an anonymous email containing historical allegations about a producer on one of our titles.
“Whilst the allegations are unrelated to his time on the show, we immediately removed him from the production and referred the matter to the police.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Ricky Gervais said he was “shocked and appalled” by the accusations, elaborating: “I am shocked and appalled to learn of the historical allegations made by a number of women against Charlie Hanson.
“The decision was made to immediately remove him from production and I am confident the matter is being handled thoroughly.”
But Hanson resolutely denies the claims, and said through his lawyer: “Based on the summaries that have been provided to me, I understand that many of these accusations are made anonymously and are demonstrably false.
(Image: PA)
“I have not had one complaint in decades of work in the media industry.
“I categorically reject any wrongdoing on my part, and strongly refute the allegations that have been levelled at me,” he continued.
The producer added: “I have worked with and supported hundreds of men and women during my working life and will do what is necessary to protect and/or restore my reputation.
“I will also cooperate with any formal inquiries.”
(Image: NETFLIX)
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The claims came in the form of a 5,000 word email which was sent to both BAFTA and Netflix, which is said to accuse Hanson of “promising a starry career under his wing” before he allegedly made unwanted advances.
The Times reported that one alleged victim accused Hanson of having sex with her without her consent in 2008 after they met to discuss a script, while another says the producer sexually assaulted her when she was too inebriated to consent in 2015.
An excerpt of the email was published by the newspaper, which read: “Charlie Hanson is a predator who uses his reputation, connections and standing in order to groom far younger, impressionable and sometimes vulnerable women into trusting him.”
It went on: “He exploits [their] trust in creepy and illegal ways. He then tries to diminish the seriousness of what he’s done by telling these young women – us – that it wasn’t as bad as it seemed.”
Hanson worked on 12 episodes of After Life, along with Ricky Gervais’ other projects including Derek, David Brent: Life on the Road and Extras.
He is also known for producing shows like Not Going Out, Birds of a Feather and Life’s Too Short.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
