Veteran BBC broadcaster on rape charge

The veteran BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall has been charged with rape and 14 counts of indecent assault for a string of alleged …

The veteran BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall has been charged with rape and 14 counts of indecent assault for a string of alleged historic sex attacks, police in Lancashire said last night.

Hall, of Prestbury Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire, was arrested yesterday morning after he attended an appointment at a police station.

The 83-year-old is charged with one count of rape allegedly committed in 1976 against a 22-year-old woman and 14 offences of indecent assault against 10 girls aged between nine and 16 which allegedly took place between 1967 and 1986.

A police spokesman said he had been bailed to appear before magistrates in Preston on February 7th. Hall has been a familiar face and voice in UK broadcasting for 50 years and was this year awarded an OBE. – (PA)