Actor Langham on assault charges

Chris Langham stars in BBC TV series The Thick of It

Comic actor Chris Langham has been charged with eight counts of indecent assault and one other sexual offence, police have said.

Mr Langham, from Cranbrook, Kent, was previously charged in May with 15 separate counts of making indecent images of children.

Mr Langham received the new charges when he answered bail at a police station in Kent.

In a statement, the married actor said he was "determined to clear my name".

In a further statement issued through the BBC, Mr Langham said he will withdraw from all BBC projects "until these matters are resolved".

He has been bailed to appear at Sevenoaks Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

Mr Langham won a Bafta for best comedy performance in May this year.

Denied

The award was for his portrayal of government minister Hugh Abbot in the BBC series The Thick of It.

Earlier on Wednesday, the corporation confirmed the actor would not be returning in a special Christmas edition of the programme.

But a BBC spokeswoman denied he had been axed from the show, and said his absence was due to the show's focus on Tory politicians.

"It was always our intention to shoot a Christmas special that was about the Opposition, and Chris was never going to be in that," she said.

Mr Langham is a familiar face on BBC television shows, including his spoof documentary series People Like Us, which transferred to the small screen from BBC Radio 4.

He has previously been honoured at the British Comedy Awards and the Sony Radio Awards and by the Writers' Guild of America for co-writing The Muppet Show from 1977 to 1980.

Mr Langham has also written for Not The Nine O'Clock News, Murder Most Horrid and Spike Milligan's Q series.