Craig McLachlan’s wife testifies for him

Craig McLachlan’s partner will return to the scene when she defends her husband in a libel case over reports of sexual assault and harassment during theatrical and television productions.

Conductor Vanessa Scamel on Monday gave tearful testimony about how the 56-year-old McLachlan was “killed” by articles published in January 2018.

Scammel said her husband has become a hermit, afraid to answer phone calls and will surf at night so as not to be noticed after ABC and Fairfax published their allegedly slanderous articles.

“His joy of life is gone. He is much less trusting,” she said.

While McLachlan denies accusations that he touched, kissed and touched the actress without permission, Scammel said her husband often hugged and kissed colleagues as a greeting and called people “the love of his life.”

Also Monday, McLachlan was asked if he understood why some young actresses would feel uncomfortable if he joked about his chances with them if he were younger.

“I’m just saying it’s obvious it’s a joke,” the actor told lawyer Michael Hodge.

McLachlan told the court that none of the women he joked with reacted badly to it.

He agreed to bring sexual jokes and pranks to the show, including deep-seated bananas, masturbating with the hands of crew members and used for some the nickname “Gobbler” in the 2014 production of The Rocky Horror Show.

He defended the banana gag after Mr Hodge noted that he continued to use it in the 2017/18 show.

“You don’t see any problem in pretending to lobby a banana in front of people you’ve never met or almost never met?” Asked Mr. Hodge.

“Comically in the theater, on television or in film, Mr. Hodge, no,” McLachlan replied.

He admitted that he sent Christy Whelan Brown videos in which he is fully dressed, pretending to masturbate, as well as clips with a view of orgasm in the toilet, but said that the actress was not offended by them.

Scamel told the court that Whelan Brown asked McLachlan if he could see her “cut” her underwear, pulled a rubber band over his boxers and beat his buttocks with a towel.

On Tuesday, Scammel resumed his testimony in the NSW Supreme Court.