Dave Lee Travis assault interrupted by Chuckle Brothers, court told

A female stagehand who was allegedly groped by veteran DJ Dave Lee Travis told a court she was able to escape him thanks to the arrival of children’s entertainers the Chuckle Brothers.

The woman was working on a pantomime production of Aladdin starring the former Radio 1 presenter as the “evil uncle” Abanazar when he allegedly assaulted her in his dressing room.

Travis put his hand down the front of her trousers and tried to block her exit but she was saved when his pantomime co-stars the Chuckle Brothers, Barry and Paul Elliott, called his named from the corridor outside, the court heard.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was one of three of Travis’ alleged victims to give evidence at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday.

Former BBC star Travis, who is on trial under his real name, David Patrick Griffin, denies 13 indecent assaults and one sexual assault, dating back to 1976 and the height of his fame.

A second woman, who was allegedly groped by Travis while filming Top of the Pops, said she did not complain to her BBC bosses because “it would have fallen on deaf ears”.

The former camerawoman said she was “startled” when the presenter placed his hand on her and "squeezed my bottom".

But she had gone to them about sexual harassment she had suffered at the corporation previously and nothing had happened, the court heard.

The woman, who said she was 21 or 22 at the time of the incident in the early 1980s, said she was concentrating on operating the camera and connected to around two metres of cable so was trapped and unable to move when Travis, now 68, suddenly appeared next to her.

Giving evidence from behind a screen, the woman said: "What I remember was I was kind of startled because I felt something on my bottom. My right buttock.

"And then I realised that there was someone next to me, because he was a lot bigger than me, talking into his mic.

"I can't remember what he was saying into the mic. I don't remember whether he was talking generally, it wouldn't have been a recording. He was just possibly talking to the audience who were in the studio at that time."

A third woman told the jury she had been through “40 years of hell” after being assaulted by the former Top of the Pops host when she was a 19-year-old deputy carnival princess.

The woman claimed Travis put his hand up her skirt and touched her breast while they were alone at the opening of a hospital radio station in 1973.

The witness, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said Travis had a "haunting look" on his face as he touched her and she felt "frightened" and "ashamed" so avoided watching him on the TV again.

Breaking down in tears, she said her ordeal had an effect on her love life with her late husband, who would never know why.

"When he put his arms around me, I'd freeze," she said.

Prosecutor Miranda Moore QC told jurors that the woman's evidence did not relate to any specific charge.

The former stagehand said she did not report Travis’ dressing room assault because she was scared of losing her job.

Describing her ordeal, she said: “I was about to go and he was suddenly behind me.

"He's a big chap and he engulfed me and he had his hand on the door above me.

"He put his other hand down the front of my jogging bottoms.

"He was touching me from top to bottom."

Asked by prosecutor Ms Moore where his hand went, the woman said: "I believe it was over my genitalia. I don't think it went inside my pants."

Dave Lee Travis arriving at Southwark Crown Court today (STEFAN ROUSSEAU/PA)

The witness said that getting out of the door became her "complete focus" as she struggled to escape.

She went on: "It felt like a long time but I think it was only a matter of moments before I managed to get the door open.

"He was pushing it over the top of my head. He was a lot stronger than I am."

She said that after opening the door slightly: "I heard someone say 'alright Dave', at which point he released me."

The woman said she was then aware the voice belonged to one of the Chuckle Brothers who were walking along the corridor towards the dressing room.

The woman, who was aged 21 at the time of the alleged incident in the early 1990s, said she rushed away and told a supervisor about what had happened.

She said: "I was really obviously shaken up. Confused and scared and just in a bit of a state really."

She said her colleague agreed that she would not have to go into Travis's dressing room again for the rest of the show's run and they discussed whether to take the issue further.

She told jurors: "We decided that because it was my first job in theatre it wouldn't be me who was going to be believed.

"I think I felt that even if someone believed me, which I didn't, it still wouldn't be me that kept my job."

The theatre later decided that female workers should not be left alone with Travis during the show's run, the court heard.