BAFTA President Prince William was “kept in the dark” about sex allegations made against Noel Clarke, it is claimed.
Officials at the charity failed to inform the Duke of Cambridge of their concerns about the actor-producer until last week, according to the Sunday Times.
Earlier this week, The Guardian published allegations of misconduct from 20 women who knew Clarke in a professional capacity. It included claims of sexually inappropriate behaviour and sharing sexually explicit pictures and videos without consent.
Clarke has previously said he “vehemently” denies allegations of sexual misconduct or criminal behaviour but said he will be seeking professional help and has apologised “deeply” for his actions.
Bafta has suspended Clarke’s membership of the organisation and his outstanding British contribution to cinema award, which he was handed on April 10 at the film academy’s awards.
Prince William had previously criticised Bafta for the lack of diversity among its nominees and was set to praise the TV and film body in his presidential address on April 11 – though the speech was cancelled following the death of his grandfather Philip two days before.
According to the Sunday Times, officials at Bafta had become aware of sex allegations made against Clarke as early as March 30 – but did not inform Prince William of the claims until last week.
The Guardian also reported Bafta had also been alerted 13 days before the ceremony – but said it was provided with “no evidence” that would allow it to investigate.
Bafta declined to comment on its interactions with Kensington Palace when approached by the newspaper.
Sky, which has aired three series of Clarke’s crime drama series Bulletproof, has also said it is halting work with the actor following the allegations.
And yesterday, ITV cancelled the final episode of Viewpoint in light of the “very serious” claims.
Clarke has also been suspended from Unstoppable Film and Television, a production company he co-founded in 2007, according to a statement from a spokesman for parent company All3Media.
At least 27 women have now come forward to accuse the star of a range of acts – including sharing sexually explicit pictures and videos without consent.
The allegations, which have been fiercely denied by the married director, relate to a period between 2004 and 2019, the Guardian reports.
Among the 20 women who have made allegations are Brotherhood producer Gina Powell.
She alleged he told her he planned to “f**k and fire her” before changing his mind and keeping her on board.
The producer, who worked with Clarke for three years between 2014 and 2017, also claimed the actor bragged about having secret films of naked auditions.
She alleged he once showed her a covert recording of a naked audition by Jahannah James, who starred in Brotherhood.
As the claims mounted against the Kidulthood star, he released a second statement to say he is “deeply sorry”.
But he vehemently denied any sexual misconduct or criminal wrongdoing.
He said: “Recent reports however have made it clear to me that some of my actions have affected people in ways I did not intend or realise.
“To those individuals, I am deeply sorry. I will be seeking professional help to educate myself and change for the better.”
