David Soul wins libel case

Starsky and Hutch made Soul a global star

American actor David Soul has been awarded £20,000 in libel damages against TV presenter Matthew Wright for his review of his play in The Mirror newspaper.

Wright claimed the play, The Dead Monkey, which was produced by Mr Soul and his partner Alexa Hamilton, was the worst West End show he had ever seen.

However, the former Starsky and Hutch star took him to the High Court when it emerged Mr Wright had not even seen it.

You have to see the play, you have to be there, you have to have the facts.

David Soul

The bill for the entire case is likely to be in the region of £150,000 and it is expected to be picked up by the newspaper.

Mr Soul, 58, said: "I stand really strong on the side of fair comment and opinion about the theatre.

"I think it's a cornerstone of the theatre but you have to see the play, you have to be there, you have to have the facts."

'Poor show'

The article in 1998 alleged that the production and Mr Soul's performance were so poor that the audience were laughing at him and that he had instructed the ushers to beg anyone who wanted to walk out to return to their seats.

It was also claimed that only 45 people showed up and that just two copies of a souvenir CD were sold.

The article also said Mr Soul had ploughed all his fortune into the production.

However his solicitor, Graham Atkins, successfully argued that Mr Wright had not been to the show, but had sent a freelance journalist instead.

Mr Atkins said the show had 130 people in the audience, over half the capacity, and that the performance had gone down very well.

Souvenir CDs sold out during the shows run and Mr Soul had not provided funds for the play.

Mark Bateman, the solicitor for Mr Wright who now works as a TV presenter on ITV1's This Morning and Rich and Famous, said that he offered his apologies for the inaccuracies.