Why did Noel Clarke sue The Guardian? Details explored as actor loses Libel Case over sexual misconduct investigation

Noel Clarke, the British actor behind Doctor Who and the Kidulthood films, lost his libel case against The Guardian. The report by Sky News states that he sued the Guardian News and Media (GNM) in 2022 for publishing reports that more than 20 women accused him of sexual misconduct. Clarke said the stories were false and hurt his reputation. He sought up to £70 million in damages.

Reports by Reuters further stated that on August 22, 2025, Mrs Justice Steyn ruled in The Guardian’s favour. She said the newspaper's publisher showed the reports were "substantially true," and that the stories served the public interest.

Why did the judge rule against Noel Clarke?

Reports by The Guardian stated that Mrs Justice Steyn described Clarke as "not a credible or reliable witness," even though she accepted some parts of what he said. She noted Clarke tended only to admit things that were already backed by documents, and even then, only partially.

Reports by The Independent mention that Noel Clarke had claimed there was a conspiracy to destroy him. He argued that over 20 women lied to hurt his career. The judge strongly rejected that. She said such a conspiracy had "no proper foundation," was "implausible," and the witnesses had nothing to gain.

According to Reuters, it was proved in court that between 2004 and 2019, over 20 women witnessed or experienced Clarke's sexual misconduct. As per the reports by The Guardian, one example was secretly filming a young actor during a naked audition. She concluded, "instances of each of those elements have been established." This meant that The Guardian had succeeded in defending its stories on the grounds of public interest and truth.

More details about Noel Clarke's case

It all started when, in April 2021, The Guardian published articles and a podcast in which around 20 women accused Clarke of misconduct. Noel Clarke had just received the BAFTA award, which was then suspended once the allegations came out.

Various reports, including those of The Guardian, state that almost 30 people came forward to testify during the trial, and it even included around 26 people who talked about their personal experiences with Clarke. A few allegations were that he groped some of them and behaved inappropriately. Journalists working on the investigation testified too.

Clarke denied all the allegations, and his lawyers claimed the women were lying, had grudges, or were part of an organized plot against him. But Justice Steyn said,

"but overall I find that he was not a credible or reliable witness."

She also said that his general pattern was:

"of only being prepared to admit that which was established by documentary evidence, and even then only to the minimum extent shown."

The Guardian’s editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner, said,

"This judgment is a deserved victory for those women who suffered because of the behaviour of Noel Clarke. Going to court is difficult and stressful, yet more than 20 women agreed to testify in the High Court, refusing to be bullied or intimidated."

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Clarke said he was disappointed. He maintained that the coverage misrepresented him and cost him his career. He added that he was not the person described in the articles published by The Guardian.

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