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Rolf Harris gives evidence in indecent assault trial Rolf Harris denies indecently assaulting daughter's friend
(35 minutes later)
Veteran entertainer Rolf Harris has told a court how his first interview for the BBC was a disaster. Rolf Harris has denied indecently assaulting a friend of his daughter when the girl was 13, telling a court: "It didn't happen."
Giving evidence for the first time in his indecent assault trial, the 84-year-old described the start of his career to jurors at Southwark crown court, including how he invented his well-known wobble-board. Giving evidence in his trial on 12 charges of indecent assault, seven of which are connected to this alleged victim, the 84-year-old entertainer told Southwark crown court it was very likely he would have hugged the girl at some point, but never in a sexual way.
Harris, who denies 12 counts of indecent assault on four alleged victims between 1968 and 1986, said he moved from Australia to London at the age of 21 to pursue a career as an artist because he did not want to be a "weekend painter". "Yes I have," Harris said, when asked by the defence counsel Sonia Woodley QC if he would have hugged her. "I'm a very touchy-feely type of person, I usually hug everyone I get on with."
He earned money by performing in the evenings while trying different art courses, the court heard. But Harris insisted he did not, as the alleged victim told the court, grope her when she left a hotel shower while she was on holiday in the late 1970s. He also denied a second alleged assault, when it is claimed he touched the girl after she walked out of the sea and he wrapped a towel around her, while standing close to his wife, Alwen Hughes, and daughter, Bindi Harris. Asked if his happened he replied: "No".
The star said he was inspired to try to carve out a career in television after seeing an entertainer telling stories and doing drawings on TV. Thinking he could do better, Harris wrote to the BBC to ask for an audition. Harris said he did not even like being on beaches after he almost drowned while trying to surf as a youngster.
"It was a disaster because my selling ability was my ability to do drawings quickly and tell the story while doing the drawings, except that in a panicked situation I did all my drawings the night before in my little room in Earl's Court." He also denied groping the girl on subsequent occasions, when she lay in a bunk bed and on a jetty: "No. It never happened."
He said the person he auditioned for was directing a secretary while he was performing, and then gave what he thought was a dismissive thanks at the end. The Australian-born artist and TV star, wearing a dark blue pinstriped suit, white shirt and blue tie, began his evidence by answering questions about his early life and career. He described growing up in Western Australia, where at age 15 he became the national junior backstroke champion, and moving to London in his early 20s to study art. He then began a career on BBC children's television alongside a puppet called Fuzz, despite an initial audition he called disastrous.
But the BBC did offer Harris a slot on a show, marking the start of his TV career, the court heard. In exchanges which caused occasional giggles in the court, Woodley led Harris at length through the invention of his trademark wood-based musical instrument, the wobble board, his mastery of the didgeridoo – the sound of both of which he briefly impersonated – and the genesis of pop hits, including Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport and Two Little Boys. Asked to explain his song and skit Jake the Peg, about a man with a third leg, Harris briefly sang the chorus to the court.
Wearing a pin-striped suit and turquoise and purple tie, Harris initially stood while giving evidence, but later sat down in the witness box. At times Woodley asked Harris to stick to the subject when his reminiscences deviated, saying at one point: "Can we just concentrate on how the wobble board came into being?"
Harris was also asked about the family of the alleged victim, saying he had little to do with them. "We had absolutely nothing in common. They were very straight up and down and did everything exactly right. We could never think of anything to say to them when we were with them. I think we were too bohemian and artistic for them."
Harris, who has been based in the UK for 60 years and lives in Bray, Berkshire, denies all 12 counts of indecent assault.
The trial continues.The trial continues.