Top Boy star Micheal Ward denies raping woman in the back of a car and tells court they were 'having a great time'

Published: 21:41, 6 July 2026 | Updated: 21:44, 6 July 2026 Top Boy star Micheal Ward has denied raping a woman in the back of a car - instead telling a court they were 'having a great time'. The Bafta-winning actor, who appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court, is accused of two counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration, and one count of sexual assault against one woman in January 2023. He denies all charges.  Ward, of Silvertown in London, told the court the alleged encounter - which occurred in his friend's Mercedes-Benz after a party at a club in Gants Hill on New Year's Day - happened after he and the woman 'flirted'.  He said the pair then engaged in foreplay, enjoyed 'passionate' kisses, and that an intimate act between them would not have happened if she had not wanted it to.  Ward, 28, described the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as an 'active participant' whom he believed gave consent.  Defence counsel Sallie Bennett-Jenkins KC asked Ward if he raped the woman in January 2023 and if he sexually assaulted her.  To each of the allegations, Ward answered: 'No miss, I did not.' He said: 'We had a mutual attraction with each other. We engaged in consensual sex, had a great time and she was actively participating in what we were doing all the time.' Top Boy star Micheal Ward (pictured) has denied raping a woman in the back of a car The Bafta-winning actor is accused of two counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration, and one count of sexual assault against one woman. He denies all charges At the time of the alleged incident, Ward had been the host of a New Year party in Gants Hill, east London, after spending Christmas with his family.  He said he found the woman 'very cute' when he saw her for the first time outside the party's venue, where she was with a group of friends.  Ward then spoke to them, where he had a 'flirty conversation' with the complainant and asked for her Snapchat details.  He told the jury: 'I could tell there was interest there – from her eye contact and the way she was speaking.' Ward added that he thought he saw her 'once or twice' at the party, describing the experience as 'great'.  He said: 'We have a nice conversation. It was flirty. I cannot recall exactly what was said but I got a great vibe from her.' The court heard that Ward got a message from the woman saying she was waiting by a car, where she allegedly said she was 'happy and had enjoyed the party'. The two had a 'very light' and 'very cool' conversation before Ward asked her to join him in a car.  Ward told the court the alleged encounter happened after he and the woman 'flirted' at a New Year's Eve party The actor said what occurred in the vehicle was a 'continuation of the flirting'. He said: 'She was touching me and I was touching her. 'She was rubbing my leg when we were kissing. She kept her arms around me and it was a developing situation.' He added: 'She was reciprocating the energy. She was pulling me close. For me, that was an inviting act and we were both enjoying that moment.' Afterwards, Ward said that he wished to see her again, adding that he 'enjoyed' their vibe and thought the woman was 'cool'. He claimed the woman was 'smiling,' but had to wait 'quite a while' as he confirmed  details of the venue of an afterparty he invited her to in Stratford in east London.  When leaving the afterparty, Ward asked the woman to go to a car to chat.  They sat in the front of his friend's Mercedes-Benz, where Ward said the woman seemed 'absolutely fine' as the two engaged in 'nice and engaging general conversation.' Ward rose to fame on the Netflix revival of Channel 4 series Top Boy as Jamie (pictured). The drama explores the world of drug dealers in Hackney, east London The pair then kissed and touched, with Ward claiming: 'I would say it was very much passionate. She was enjoying it. I was enjoying it.' He asked her to go into the back seat, which the woman did.  Ward claimed the woman gave no indication that she wanted to leave, and that the door of the car was unlocked.  He said they kissed again before becoming involved in a 'developing situation'. He said: 'I really feel that she wanted to be there. She never mentioned anything about wanting to leave.' The actor recalled the woman saying her friends were waiting for her, adding: 'There was foreplay that happened. Everything was comfortable and it progressed in a comfortable way.' 'Everything was progressing in a natural hot way and we were just enjoying it. She was actively participating in everything we were doing.' After Ward's lawyer inquired if the woman did anything to show she did not want what happened, he responded: 'No miss, if she did we would not have done it.' He said he did not force the woman and they kissed, hugged and had a conversation before she left. He added that he wished to see her again but he had a busy work schedule. The court heard the two later exchanged messages, with Ward sending her a smiling emoji with a heart, meaning he was going to miss her. The woman replied telling him to enjoy the rest of his night.   At a previous hearing, the court heard a recorded police interview where the alleged victim described Ward as 'overpowering'.  She said: 'I tried to leave the vehicle and he told me to close the door.' The jurors heard Ward then made attempts to engage the woman in a sex act - which the woman said lasted on the first occasion for 'no more than three minutes'. The woman, who said she felt 'numb' and 'scared', recounted 'wanting it all to be over'. Ward then proceeded to force the woman to engage in the act for a second time, as he allegedly threatened her: 'If I tell you to do it, you do it.' 'When he told me to do it again I didn't really feel I had a choice,' the complainant said. 'He said, "if you are quick you can go".' She added: 'I didn't want to do it'. When asked how she felt at that point, the woman said: 'I was just scared. I was just ready to leave the situation and I felt at that point I knew I could go because he got what he wanted.' Ward denies two counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration, and one count of sexual assault against the woman. He was arrested on January 18, 2023 and told police in a prepared statement: 'I deny the allegation of rape. I want to put on record that we had consensual foreplay and consensual sex.'  He was later charged on July 25, 2025.  Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.