Stuart Hall In Court Over Sex Charges

Veteran BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall has made his first Crown Court appearance accused of a string of historic sex offences.

Unsteady on his feet and wearing a dark blue suit, he entered the dock at Preston Crown Court and spoke only to confirm his name in an eight-minute preliminary hearing.

The case was adjourned by the Recorder of Preston, Judge Anthony Russell QC, until April 16 when the defendant is expected to enter formal pleas to the charges.

A provisional trial date of October 2 was set, estimated to last up to four weeks.

Hall, 83, is charged with one count of rape and 14 offences of indecent assault.

He is alleged to have raped a 22-year-old woman in 1976 and the 14 other alleged sexual assaults relate to 10 girls aged between nine and 16, between 1967 and 1986.

In addition, Hall had earlier been charged with three separate indecent assaults of young girls - aged nine, 13 and 16 - dating between 1974 and 1984, which he also denies.

Last month, the former It's A Knockout presenter said after leaving an earlier hearing at Preston Magistrates' Court that he might have considered suicide had it not been for his family.

He described the accusations as "pernicious, callous, cruel and, above all, spurious" and vowed to clear his name and restore his reputation.

Hall, of Wilmslow, Cheshire, has been a familiar face and voice in British broadcasting for half a century and was last year awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours.

His eccentric and erudite football match summaries made him a cult figure on BBC Radio 5 Live.