Production of next Doctor Blake Mysteries series suspended
Production of the new season of The Dr Blake Mysteries has been put on hold as police investigate sexual harassment claims involving actor Craig McLachlan.
A theatre star claims that the actor inappropriately touched her during production of The Rocky Horror Show and said other female actors working with him felt constantly on edge, fearing harassment.
“You kind of had to go into the theatre with armour on, we had to. That’s the best way I could describe it,” Christie Whelan Browne told the ABC’s 7.30 on Monday night.
She and two other former co-workers have made claims against McLachlan who has also starred in The Rocky Horror Show, Home and Away and Neighbours.
Whelan Browne was starring alongside McLachlan in The Rocky Horror Show when she alleges he inappropriately touched her on stage in front of 2000 people.
“He was directed to kiss down my neck, down my arm and go down out of sight but he would always kiss down my breasts and continue to kiss all the way down until I would have to sort of move and wriggle away.”
McLachlan has denied the claims saying the show was “a confrontational musical oozing with sexuality” and that as a result “actors have to perform certain actions”.
Actress Erika Heynatz has said that McLachlan confronted her once in her dressing room.
“He knelt down in front of me and then started saying along the lines of, “You’re really beautiful. I can’t stop thinking about you. And he took me by the face and kissed me. And I was completely taken aback by it. So I was just kind of frozen. And shaky. It really unsettled me. It unnerved me. It undermined my confidence,” she told 7.30.
Another time he straddled her on a couch and she told him it was “too much”.
Angela Scundi told a director she didn’t want to perform an unscripted kiss with the actor, that he often improvised with the principal actress for which she was an understudy.
She was assured she wouldn’t have to perform the unscripted kiss.
“The second night I went on, I ran in, hugged. He grabbed me and kissed me. But I couldn’t do anything. That’s what I felt. I was caught completely off guard because the night before he hadn’t done that. And so I thought I was safe."
She confronted him, calling him a “cheeky b***ard”.
“He turned around and he said, “What do you mean?' And I’m like, 'Don’t do that. Don’t you kiss me. Don’t you do that ever again.'”
She continued, “And he turned and, like, I don’t feel fear at that level, but I haven’t felt that terrified ever in my life or ever again."
The theatre company behind The Rocky Horror Show, The Gordon Frost Organisation (GFO) issued a statement following the allegations expressing their shock.
The statement also stated, “We take these allegations very seriously, and have always endeavoured to prioritise a safe working environment.
“In response, we have spoken to Craig and have mutually agreed that it is not appropriate for him to continue in the current production of the show. We will be conducting a full internal investigation and will cooperate fully with authorities.
“While we clearly cannot comment on the details of this particular case, sexual assault in any form is unacceptable, and we will work diligently within this industry to support the right of all people to be protected in the workplace, and stand by those who are victims of inappropriate behaviour.
“In order to clarify media reports, we wish to state that we were not aware of any details of these allegations until they were published in the media today. We received correspondence from a law firm shortly before Christmas however this contained no details of the claims or the claimants.
“The response from our lawyers was based on this lack of information and was not in any way directed at the women who have come forward and made these allegations.
“We can also confirm that our records show the claimants at no time made any complaint – formal or informal – to the company manager or executive producer of The Rocky Horror Show in 2014.
“Furthermore no one at GFO recalls any verbal discussion of this nature. It would be distressing to us if anyone within our company was dismissive of sexual assault allegations, and this will form a part of our internal investigation.”
McLachlan has denied the allegations which include indecent assault, sexual harassment, exposing himself and bullying female co-stars.
The actor said in an email to Fairfax Media that the claims are “baseless" and “they seem to be simple inventions, perhaps made for financial reasons, perhaps to gain notoriety”.
“These allegations are ALL made up,” he said.
The production company behind The Doctor Blake Mysteries, December Media, said the series would be put on hold following the claims.
The company said in a statement that throughout the production of the show they are confident there have been no incidents of any cast or crew members acting inappropriately towards their co-workers.
“Throughout the six years of production of Doctor Blake it has not only been an enormously popular show on air but popular with cast and crew who come back to work on the series year after year. Craig has been central to this success both in front of camera and on set. It is not appropriate for December to respond to the allegations about Craig McLachlan’s behaviour in relation to another production he has appeared in,” the statement read.
“However, in the light of these allegations December Media will temporarily hold production preparations for the new series to allow due process.
“December Media is committed to a safe and secure working environment. We do not tolerate any form of behaviour, which makes anyone feel threatened or uncomfortable for whatever reason in the workplace. December has policies and procedures in place to ensure all staff feel confident about reporting any issue or incident to management and can be assured that management will act swiftly. Given these allegations are subject to a police investigation December Media will not be making any further comment.”
Victorian Police are investigating the claims surrounding the actor.