Why did BAFTA ignore shocking Noel Clarke allegations?

​Three weeks ago the actor Noel Clarke -you will know him from his nightly appearance this week on the ITV thriller Viewpoint-appeared on stage at the Royal Albert Hall to collect his Bafta for his “outstanding contribution” to cinema.

According to viewers he looked on edge. Not surprising as two weeks earlier Bafta executives had been told of serious allegations concerning bullying and sexual harassment which would have meant it was unwise for Clarke to receive an award. Bafta went ahead anyway.

Clarke knew if the allegations ever became public it would be a career destroying moment. And they did.

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The Guardian has done a terrific piece of investigative journalism (and I haven’t said that in a long time) and produced damning evidence from 20 women that from 2004 to 2019 that Clarke had been involved in sexual misconduct which included groping, unwanted touching, taking and sharing explicit pictures without consent and bullying. All the women knew Clarke in a professional capacity.
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Its astonishing stuff. There is the “dick pic”, the naked auditions and one producer who worked with Clarke for three years tells he would constantly harass her and one occasion told her that he had planned to “to fuck and fire her” before deciding to keep her on.

​Clarke is extremely well know in the film and TV world. His trio of films Kidulthood, Adulthood and Brotherhood were all celebrated for their portrayal of inner city life.

He also writes and stars in Bulletproof, one of Sky’s biggest shows. Series 4 is in pre-production but I imagine that will now be canned.

Clarke denied every allegation except one put to him by The Guardian. In a 29-page letter from his lawyers he even questioned the credibility of the complainants.

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He said in a statement; “In a 20-year career I have put inclusivity and diversity at the forefront of my work and never had a complaint against me. If anyone who has ever worked with me has ever felt uncomfortable or disrespected I sincerely apologise.”

“I vehemently deny any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing and intend to defend myself against these false allegations.”

Its Bafta’s action I find baffling but they say it did receive anonymous emails and reports of allegations but said it was provided with no evidence that would allow it to investigate.

The emails arrived more than a month ago. They did nothing.
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But within minutes of The Guardian running their expose last night they announced they were suspending Clarke from Bafta and withholding his award. Quite shocking from Bafta. This is our Weinstein.

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