Langham 'groomed vulnerable girl'

Mr Langham denied the charges

Award-winning comedy actor Chris Langham groomed, corrupted and abused a vulnerable teenage girl for three years, Maidstone Crown Court has heard.

Mr Langham, 58, of Kent, has denied 10 counts of indecent assault and two counts of a serious sexual offence on a girl under 18 between 1996 and 2000.

He also denies 15 counts of making an indecent image of a child in 2005.

The court heard police raided his home in 2005 and found images of young girls "being degraded and sexually abused".

Prosecuting, Richard Barraclough QC said Mr Langham, of Golford, near Cranbrook, had an "interest in young girls".

Defending, David Whitehouse QC, said his client admitted having a sexual encounter with the alleged victim when she was an adult - but the relationship she claimed to have had with him "never happened".

He said his client had downloaded child pornography on four specific dates.

David Whitehouse QC said he had been writing a series called Help, for the BBC, in which he played a psychiatrist, and used the material for an episode about a paedophile.

Hotel rooms

The court heard that the actor and his alleged victim bonded over Shakespeare and her desire to act.

The married father-of-two bought her a copy of The Merchant Of Venice, took her to art galleries and dinner at The Ivy, and introduced her to his family, said Mr Barraclough.

He said Mr Langham took advantage of a "vulnerable" girl, whose parents had split up, and had an unhappy childhood which was "devoid of affection".

"She began to confide in him," he said.

"He did all sorts of things for her, even paying for her to get help with her eating disorder."

Their first contact was a kiss on the lips when she was 14, jurors were told, "under the guise of teaching her the correct way to breathe".

Adding that Mr Langham had a drink problem, he said the pair had sex in hotel rooms in London and when he was away filming, and in cars.

Chris Langham starred in BBC TV series The Thick of It

Defending, David Whitehouse QC, urged the jury to keep an open mind.

He said his client admitted having a sexual encounter with the alleged victim after the period covered by the charges, when she was an adult.

He said: "After that he tried to distance himself from her. This was a big mistake, as big a mistake as having had sex with her in the first place, because she cannot cope with rejection.

"The sexual relationship she says she had with him never happened apart from that."

He said Mr Langham admitted taking her to hotels and restaurants but said they had not had sex.

The actor had been helping her with her problems using his own experiences from his time with Alcoholics Anonymous.

Mr Whitehouse said: "He helped her, supported, he guided her."

The case was adjourned until Monday.