Ex-BBC presenter accused of child sex offences 'posed nearly naked for calendar'

An ex-BBC presenter who denies child sex offences in public woodland and claimed she was body-conscious posed nearly naked for a "Naughty But Nice" charity calendar, a court has heard.

Julie Wadsworth's photo-shoot was for Children in Need, with one image showing her visible from the shoulders up in an over-sized golf bag and another portraying her as Lady Godiva.

Mrs Wadsworth was again tackled by the prosecution about her alleged body confidence issues, after it was also revealed her husband had shot an up-skirt video of his wife.

She is on trial at Warwick Crown Court alongside spouse and former co-presenter Tony Wadsworth, with both accused of encouraging boys to take part in sexual activity in Warwickshire woods between 1992 and 1996.

Mrs Wadsworth has accepted having sexual encounters with "young men" in the woods, but has repeatedly denied they were children.

Miranda Moore QC, prosecuting, asked Mrs Wadsworth: "You have given us all the impression that you are so body-conscious, you wouldn't display yourself in public."

Giving evidence in her defence on Thursday, Mrs Wadsworth claimed she still suffered low body confidence.

But Mrs Moore put it to the defendant that she had "courted publicity".

She asked: "You would have photographs taken as what I would describe as saucy poses, wouldn't you?"

Mrs Wadsworth said she had only had such pictures taken for work purposes and the charity calendar.

The former broadcaster also denied sunbathing topless in public, as some complainants have alleged, adding it was "not illegal" to do so in private.

Complainants have claimed they were approached and propositioned by a knicker-less Mrs Wadsworth, wearing white stockings, near woodland - while Mr Wadsworth would allegedly keep watch.

The couple previously worked for BBC Leicester and Birmingham-based BBC WM.

Mrs Moore asked her: "We have heard evidence of you being in the woods without your underwear on, can you remember that?

The 60-year-old replied: "No, I never did it."

Mrs Wadsworth said she hated white stockings, but did own a pair of long white socks worn in "Jennifer Aniston-style" as "a bit of fun" at a Christmas-time family gathering at home.

She said: "It's not something I would walk out in."

However, when presented with prosecution evidence she accepted wearing "a dress and stockings" for her and her husband's Late Show BBC programme, entitled "Julie's Christmas Stocking".

The Crown's barrister then asked about whether she had posed for a video filmed by her husband, in which she appeared topless.

Mrs Moore asked: "You have a video of your husband shooting a video up your skirt?"

But the former DJ said the video was nothing out of the ordinary "if you've got a husband who appreciates you".

Asked about the charity calendar, Mrs Wadsworth said "it was a Children in Need calendar called Naughty But Nice", sold to listeners to raise donations.

Mrs Moore asked: "You were somebody who was very happy to do a Calendar-Girl style calendar, and weren't body conscious at all as long as it passed the standards of the BBC?"

The defendant replied: "It was no different to that (Calendar Girls), it was not salacious at all."

Mrs Wadsworth was then asked about alleged sexual activity in the woods, including her "first encounter" of "mutual masturbation" with a male who she claimed came across she and her husband, while "petting" in the trees.

She said: "We didn't say no, and when he walked forward we accepted that it was all of the moment, of sexual arousal.

"We were in a situation, he came forward and it happened."

Later, Mrs Moore asked her: "Is that you problem Mrs Wadsworth - you're just going to get your jollies however you want?"

She replied: "I don't have a problem."

Mrs Wadsworth then claimed she was a "victim" of the process, adding: "The reason I use the word victim is because I am being victimised for something I did not do."

Asked about another encounter involving what the prosecution claim was three children, Mrs Wadsworth accepted the incident happened but denied they were underage.

She said: "No, they weren't boys, they were men - I can tell by the way they looked, they were 17 or older."

The couple, from Broughton Astley, Leicestershire, deny five counts of outraging public decency which allege they engaged in sexual activity "against a tree" in view of others between July 1992 and June 1996.

Mrs Wadsworth, has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges of indecent assault, while her 69-year-old husband denies nine counts of the same offence.

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