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Posted: 2022-05-17 05:23:29

The partner of actor Craig McLachlan has been accused in court of "making up" evidence in order to "bolster" his case on day seven of his defamation trial.

McLachlan is suing the ABC, Nine Entertainment Co and actress Christie Whelan Browne over 2018 reports alleging he indecently assaulted, harassed, bullied and exposed himself to female cast members during the 2014 Australian tour of The Rocky Horror Show.

McLachlan denies all claims of sexual harassment and bullying in the stories and says they ruined his reputation and put an end to his acting career.

On her second day in the witness box, McLachlan's partner, conductor Vanessa Scammell, was accused by the barrister representing the news networks of giving "untrue evidence".

Ms Scammell told the jury that apart from two days, she was in Brisbane while The Rocky Horror Show was performed in the city in 2014.

She said that this meant she saw the show approximately "four times" in its entirety and saw act two around "15 times".

In response, Michael Hodge QC said that she had "exaggerated" this number to "bolster" Mr McLachlan's case, suggesting was retrospectively "inserting" herself into the theatre so that she would be present for incidents in question. 

Ms Scammell responded, "no". 

Yesterday, the jury heard from Ms Scammell that she was in McLachlan's Brisbane dressing room to witness a conversation between her partner and Whelan Browne.

Ms Scammell claimed Whelan Browne came to the door of the dressing room, "pushed her pubic area out, pointed down and said, 'can you see my slit through my underparts?'"

Today in court, Mr Hodge said this conversation did not happen in front of Ms Scammell in Brisbane, and exclaimed, "you have made that up".

Ms Scammell replied: "I did not."

The jury also heard from actor Kristian Lavercombe, who performed in the 2014 Rocky Horror Show production.

Lavercombe, who gave evidence via video link from the UK, told the court he had played the part of Riff Raff "about 2,000 times" over the past 10 years.

The courtroom heard from Lavercombe the cast was "quite affectionate" with one another, and would often kiss, hug and sit on each other's laps. 

He also told the court about the sense of "risque" humour he witnessed by McLachlan and Whelan Browne.

He claimed the co-stars would often "pinch each other's bums."

The long-time performer described McLachlan's mental state in the days after the news reports published allegations of bullying and assault. 

Lavercombe told the jury, "I felt like I was on a bit of suicide watch" and said he later witnessed McLachlan wearing a disguise to conceal his identity.

The trial continues.

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