Ed Westwick has reportedly been replaced in BBC drama ‘Ordeal By Innocence’ after he was accused of sexual assault.
The 30-year-old actor stands accused of sexual misconduct by three women who came forward with their allegations amidst the scandal surrounding Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, and in light of the allegations against him, the BBC have reportedly decided to pull him from their upcoming Agatha Christie drama series.
According to The Sun newspaper, producers have recast Ed’s role in the three-part drama production, with Christian Cooke – who previously held a role in TV series ‘The Promise’ – taking over the part of Mickey Argyll when reshoots begin next month.
The publication also claims the decision to recast Ed was made by the co-producers of the drama rather than the BBC itself, and both Agatha Christie Limited and Mammoth Screen have confirmed they will "reshoot sections" of the series, which is filmed on location in Scotland.
‘Ordeal By Innocence’ was due to air over the festive period last month, but producers made the decision to postpone the show in November when the allegations surfaced.
Ed, meanwhile, has denied the claims made against him by Kristina Cohen, Aurélie Wynn, and Rachel Eck.
Both Kristina and Aurélie have accused the former ‘Gossip Girl’ star of rape, whilst Rachel claims she was "aggressively groped" by the actor whilst at a party in 2014.
Ed took to social media shortly after the claims surfaced to slam the allegations against him as "provably untrue", and insisted he would never do anything so "vile and horrific".
He wrote: "It is disheartening and sad to me that as a result of two unverified and provably untrue social media claims, there are some in this environment who could ever conclude I have had anything to do with such vile and horrific conduct.
"I have absolutely not, and am cooperating with the authorities so that they can clear my name as soon as possible."