Top Boy star Micheal Ward denies raping woman in car

British actor Micheal Ward has denied raping a woman in the back of a car and told a jury he thought the encounter was consensual and they “had a great time”.

Ward, 28, is accused of raping the woman after meeting her at a nightclub in east London on January 2, 2023. He denies two rape charges and three sexual assault charges.

Ward told London’s Snaresbrook Crown Court on Monday that they shared a “fairly flirty” conversation and “passionate” kisses, which later became a “developing situation”.

The Bafta-winning actor is known for his leading roles in the movie Blue Story and the Netflix series Top Boy.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, broke down last week when she told the jury she “didn’t understand the situation she was in” and that if she had, she “would never have gotten in that car with him.”

Jurors had previously been told Ward knew she had appeared in films and television and was flattered when he asked for her Snapchat account.

The woman recalled that she “didn’t use the word no” and “completely shut down” during the encounter, but said she told Ward she needed to leave “many times.”

On Monday, Ward told the court he was an “active participant.”

“Everything we did was completely consensual and we were having a great time,” her lawyer, Sallie Bennett-Jenkins, said when asked what KC thought of the situation.

“We had a mutual attraction to each other. We had consensual sex, had a great time, and he was always actively participating in what we were doing.”

The alleged incident took place during Ward’s New Year’s party in Gants Hill, east London.

He told the court he found the woman “very sweet” when he saw her outside the venue and when he spoke to her he “could tell from her eye contact and the way she spoke that there was interest there”.

Ward told the court they had a “very light” and “very nice” conversation and he asked her to join him in a car where “the flirting continued”.

“He was returning the energy. He was pulling me close. To me it was an inviting gesture and we were both enjoying the moment,” Ward told the court, adding that he “never mentioned wanting to leave.”

Ward later said the woman seemed “absolutely fine” and they had a “nice and engaging general conversation.”

The court heard the pair then exchanged messages; He sent her a smiling emoji with a heart, and she told him to enjoy the rest of the night.

Asked by her lawyer whether the woman had done anything to indicate she didn’t want what happened, Ward said: “No, if she had done that we wouldn’t have done it.”

At last week’s hearing, the court heard the woman appeared upset when she got into a friend’s car to drive home after the alleged attack.

The friend, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court the woman was “behaving badly” and “continued to cry” when asked what had happened.

The court heard the alleged victim ordered an STI kit on the way home and ticked a box asking if she had been sexually assaulted.

Ward was awarded the Bafta Rising Star Award in 2020 and has subsequently been nominated twice for roles in the BBC’s Small Axe and 2022’s Empire of Light.

The trial continues.