Advertisement

Justin Lee Collins Ex 'Not A Fantasist'

Justin Lee Collins Ex 'Not A Fantasist'

TV star Justin Lee Collins was abusive to his ex-girlfriend - who was not a "fantasist" but just wanted to be "treated properly" - a court has heard.

Collins, 38, denies harassing video games public relations worker Anna Larke, also 38, during a stormy seven-month affair which the jury heard brought out "the demon" in him.

A jury of three men and nine women heard prosecutor Peter Shaw sum up the case, which has been taking place at St Albans Crown Court for the last 10 days.

He began by telling the jury that Ms Larke was an alcoholic who attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

But he added: "Does it make somebody with a drink problem - who has that relationship with alcohol - incapable about telling the truth on other matters?

"The prosecution say no, that would be manifestly ridiculous."

"She is not a fantasist. She is someone abused by this defendant. She was besotted with him yet she walked out on him.

"What would cause a woman with a drink problem, living in a nice flat in Richmond with the man she was besotted with, going on international holidays several times a year - holidays that she could ordinarily only dream about, to Miami and New York - having money paid into her account by this defendant? What could cause her to walk out on him?

"What could it possibly be? She wanted to be treated properly."

The court has heard how Collins met Ms Larke six years ago at the Golden Joysticks Awards, which he had hosted in London, before they started a 12-month affair behind wife Karen's back in 2007.

They split up but resumed their relationship after the star's marriage broke down in late 2010.

She moved in with Collins in January last year after he left the marital home in Bristol, but things quickly turned sour.

Jurors have heard claims that Collins forced her to write down her previous sexual experiences in what was described as a pukka pad, and in his summing up Mr Shaw said Collins had embarked on a "course of conduct which resulted in him having violent outbursts towards her".

Mr Shaw said Collins used the pukka pad to "haunt" Ms Larke and he used it "as a rock against which any self-esteem she did have was dashed...and which led to violence".

During the trial the court also heard a tape which she had secretly made and which contained graphic, obscene insults that Collins used against her.

He could be heard saying during one row: "You bring the f****** demon out in me."

Ms Sarah Woodley QC, defending, questioned the reliability of the recording, which was made on a mobile telephone.

She said: "When the phone was examined there were no other recordings on there. This is suspicious and wrong and we suggest that it has been doctored by her.

"How interesting is it that, on that recording, he never hit her that night? Never threatened to hit her that night?

"This supports what is being said about him. This is not a violent man. She was very upset and hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

She went on to question why there were was no independent evidence of the "thousands, hundreds of bruises" Ms Larke told the court she had suffered at the hands of Mr Collins, pointing out there was no charge of violence against her client but just one of harassment.

Ms Woodley also said: "Alcoholics tend to lie. Are you prepared to convict the defendant on the word of a compulsive liar? Is it safe to rely on her evidence?"

She ended her statement by referring to evidence that Mr Collins ex-wife Karen had given, in which she described him as a non-violent man.

Collins, of Kew, south west London, who starred in Channel 4's The Friday Night Project, denies harassment. The jury is expected to retire to begin deliberations on Saturday.