Top Boy star Michael Ward says he raped a woman in a car

British actor Michelle Ward has revealed that he raped her by forcing her behind a car. He told the jury that the relationship was consensual and that he thought they were “having a good time”.

28-year-old Ward killed the woman in 2011. He is accused of assaulting the woman after meeting her at a nightclub in east London on January 2, 2023. He denied two counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault.

Ward told Snaresbrook Crown Court in London on Monday that they shared a “very flirtatious” conversation and a “passionate” kiss, which became a “growing situation”.

The BAFTA Award-winning actor is best known for his roles in Blue Story and the Netflix series Top Boy.

The woman – who cannot be named for legal reasons – broke down last week, told jurors she did not understand her situation and if she had known she would “never have got in this car”.

Jurors were previously told she knew Ward had been in film and TV and was amused when he asked her for her Snapchat handle.

The woman said she recalled not using the word “no” during the confrontation and that she “completely shut down” but told Ward she had to leave on “several occasions.”

On Monday, Ward told the court she was an “active participant”.

Asked what he thought of the situation by his lawyer, Sally Bennett-Jenkins, Casey said: “Everything we did was completely consensual and we were having a good time.”

“We had a mutual attraction to each other. We had mutual sex, we had a good time and she was always actively involved in what we were doing.”

The allegations were made during a New Year’s Eve party Ward was hosting in Gant Hill, East London.

He told the court he thought the woman was “very pretty” when he saw her outside the venue, and when he spoke to her he “could tell there was interest there – from the look in her eyes and the way she spoke”.

They had a “very easy” and “very good” conversation, Ward told the court, and he asked her to join him in the car where he “continued to flirt.”

“She was regaining her strength. She was pulling me. It was a fun act for me and we were both enjoying the moment,” Ward told the court. “She didn’t say anything about wanting to get out.”

Afterward, the woman seemed “absolutely fine” and they had a “nice and engaging general conversation,” Ward said.

The court heard they later exchanged messages – he sent her a smiley face emoji and told him to enjoy the rest of the night.

Asked by his attorney if the woman did anything to show she didn’t want what happened, Ward replied, “No, she missed it. If she did, we wouldn’t have done it.”

The court heard last week that the woman appeared to be angry at the attack when she got into her friend’s car to drive home.

The friend, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court that when asked what happened, the woman lost her temper and “she just kept crying”.

When the victim returned home, she ordered an STD kit and ticked a box asking if she had been sexually assaulted, the court heard.

Ward in 2010

The trial continues.