Actor Ed Westwick has been dropped from the upcoming BBC mini-series Ordeal By Innocence, with his part set to be re-shot by another actor, after multiple allegations of sexual assault surfaced against him.
The three-episode series, based on a novel by Agatha Christie, had completed filming and was set to air over the Christmas period, but the network put it on hold in November, pending the result of an investigation.
His part of Mickey Argyll will be recast with actor Christian Cook, who will reportedly begin filming his scenes later this month. Fellow cast members including Bill Nighy and Alice Eve are set to join him on location in Scotland for the re-shoots.
Production on Ed Westwick’s other series, the dark comedy White Gold, was paused after the allegations. The actor has been accused of sexual assault by two women, Kristina Cohen and Aurelie Wynn, but has strongly denied their claims.
In a statement in November, he said:
It is disheartening and sad to me that a as a result of two unverified and provably untrue social media claims, there are some in this environment who could ever conclude that I had anything to do with such vile and horrific conduct. I have absolutely not, and I am cooperating with the authorities so that they can clear my name as soon as possible.
This is the second time in recent months that an actor has been replaced in a completed role after sexual assault allegations, with director Ridley Scott completely removing Kevin Spacey from his film All The Money In The World and casting Chistopher Plummer instead.
