Alleged victim was 'drama queen'

Chris Langham has denied the charges against him

A woman who claims actor Chris Langham took her virginity when she was 14 was known as the "drama queen" to her family, a court has heard.

The jury at Maidstone Crown Court was told the alleged victim also claimed she had been gang raped at school.

Mr Langham, 58, from 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.

'Troubled background'

David Whitehouse QC, defending, said the woman who Mr Langham is alleged to have assaulted had a troubled background and had attempted suicide twice by the age of 12.

The court heard she admitted to being attracted to older men and had had an affair with a married policeman and a relationship with a divorcee in his 40s between the ages of 16 and 17.

Although a doctor had recorded an allegation of gang rape, the woman, who is now 25, said she told the actor she was "touched up" by a group of boys at school.

The jury was told Mr Langham took her on a filming trip to Nottingham with his son in 1998 and bought her gifts including a self help book and a pair of Armani trousers.

The woman admitted to being "star struck", saying: "I didn't like the behaviour of other adults I had seen whereas Mr Langham was different.

"Mr Langham never pushed me away: he was always interested in my problems."

She also said she told a female friend she was sleeping with the actor to "maybe impress her".

Mr Whitehouse said: "Do you invent things sometimes?"

"No I don't," she replied.

Earlier the court heard that Mr Langham looked at images of child pornography because they made him feel like a better man.

'Crying and suicidal'

The woman said he made the confession during a tearful telephone conversation following his arrest on suspicion of downloading child pornography in November 2005.

"He said he was basically not looking at the children but at the people who were hurting them," she said.

"He was looking into their eyes because it made him feel like a better man.

"He was very distraught while he was talking to me. He was crying, he was suicidal, he claimed."

The woman, who previously told the court she had lost her virginity to Mr Langham at the age of 14, said his arrest left her "confused" about the nature of the relationship.

She said that during an intimate moment he said she was "still like a little girl to him".

The pair talked about his arrest during an hour-long meeting in London's Green Park, when Mr Langham wore a cap to disguise himself.

Eventually she asked him to stop contacting her.

The case continues.