Top Boy star Micheal Ward has been charged by London’s Metropolitan Police with two counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
According to BBC News, the 27-year-old BAFTA winner is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in January 2023. He is scheduled to appear in court on August 28. Ward has denied all allegations in a statement shared via The Guardian.
“I deny the charges against me entirely. I have cooperated fully with the police throughout their investigation and will continue to cooperate,” he said. “I recognize that proceedings are now ongoing, and I have full faith that they will lead to my name being cleared. Given those proceedings, I am unable to comment further.”
The woman’s identity has been kept anonymous. Detective Superintendent Scott Ware, who is leading the investigation, said, “Our specialist officers continue to support the woman who has come forward — we know investigations of this nature can have significant impact on those who make reports.”
Catherine Baccas, deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS London South, stated that authorities had “carefully reviewed a file of evidence” before authorizing the five charges. She added, “We remind all concerned that proceedings against the suspect are active and he has a right to a fair trial. It is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
Ward rose to fame as Jamie in the hit British series Top Boy, joining the cast when it was revived by Netflix in 2019. He went on to win the 2020 BAFTA Rising Star Award and later earned a TV BAFTAs Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role in Small Axe: Lovers Rock.
Most recently, Ward received critical acclaim for his performance in Ari Aster’s COVID-19 satire Eddington, starring alongside Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, and Emma Stone.
