Former Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood has pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape, nine counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault.

The 68-year-old arrived at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, wearing a black hooded jacket, a maroon shirt and dark trousers.

Westwood stood with his hands clasped in front of him as he confirmed his name, before sitting down in the glass dock.

He is alleged to have raped women, kissed them and touched their bodies without consent.

The offences are said to have taken place against seven different women between 1983 and 2016.

Three of the alleged indecent assaults are said to have taken place at the BBC studios in the 1990s.

Westwood was granted bail, with the condition not to contact the complainants ahead of a pre-trial review hearing, scheduled for next December.

Last month, Westwood returned to the UK from Nigeria to appear in court.

He has attended five police interviews voluntarily since the investigation into the alleged offences began.

Westwood has previously denied all allegations of sexual misconduct made against him.

The charges

Charges against Westwood include an allegation of rape against a woman at a hotel in London in 1996, one count of rape from the early 2000s at an address in London, and two counts of rape at an address in London in the 2010s.

He is further accused of four indecent assaults in London in the 1980s, three indecent assaults at the BBC in the 1990s, and two indecent assaults in the early 2000s.

The former DJ is also alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman at a nightclub in Stroud, Gloucestershire, in 2010, and faces a second sexual assault charge against a woman at a music festival in London in the 2010s.

Westwood began his broadcasting career in local radio before joining Capital Radio in the late 1980s.

He moved to the BBC in 1994, working on Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra for almost 20 years.

After leaving the BBC in 2013, he then joined Capital Xtra, hosting a regular Saturday show where he was referred to as “The Big Dawg”, before he left the company in 2022.

The trial is set to take place on 25 January 2027.

Donald Trump has said he will be “involved” in the decision on whether Netflix should be allowed to buy Warner Bros, as the $72bn (£54bn) deal attracts a media industry backlash.

The US president acknowledged in remarks to reporters there “could be a problem”, acknowledging concerns over the streaming giant’s market dominance.

Crucially, he did not say where he stood on the issue.

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It was revealed on Friday that Netflix, already the world’s biggest streaming service by market share, had agreed to buy Warner Bros Discovery’s TV, film studios and HBO Max streaming division.

The deal aims to complete late next year after the Discovery element of the business, mainly legacy TV channels showing cartoons, news and sport, has been spun off.

But the deal has attracted cross-party criticism on competition grounds, and there is also opposition in Hollywood.

The Writers Guild of America said: “The world’s largest streaming company swallowing one of its biggest competitors is what antitrust laws were designed to prevent.

“The outcome would eliminate jobs, push down wages, worsen conditions for all entertainment workers, raise prices for consumers, and reduce the volume and diversity of content for all viewers.”

Republican Senator, Roger Marshall, said in a statement: “Netflix’s attempt to buy Warner Bros would be the largest media takeover in history – and it raises serious red flags for consumers, creators, movie theaters, and local businesses alike.

“One company should not have full vertical control of the content and the distribution pipeline that delivers it. And combining two of the largest streaming platforms is a textbook horizontal Antitrust problem.

“Prices, choice, and creative freedom are at stake. Regulators need to take a hard look at this deal, and realize how harmful it would be for consumers and Western society.”

Paramount Skydance and Comcast, the parent company of Sky News, were two other bidders in the auction process that preceded the announcement.

The Reuters news agency, citing information from sources, said their bids were rejected in favour of Netflix for different reasons.

Paramount’s was seen as having funding concerns, they said, while Comcast’s was deemed not to offer so many earlier benefits.

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Paramount is run by David Ellison, the son of the Oracle tech billionaire Larry Ellison, who is a close ally of Mr Trump.

The president said of the Netflix deal’s path to regulatory clearance: “I’ll be involved in that decision”.

On the likely opposition to the deal. he added: “That’s going to be for some economists to tell. But it is a big market share. There’s no question it could be a problem.”

Thousands of members of actors’ trade union Equity are being asked whether they would support industrial action over artificial intelligence protections.

The organisation has launched an indicative ballot among about 7,000 members working in film and TV.

Performers are being asked whether they are prepared to refuse to be digitally scanned on set in order to secure adequate artificial intelligence protections.

It will be the first time the performing arts and entertainment trade union has asked this whole section of its membership to vote in a ballot.

The announcement follows the Hollywood strikes in 2023, when members of Equity’s sister union in the US, SAG-AFTRA, and writers, went on strike over issues including AI.

Video game actors in the US also protested over the use of AI, ending almost a year of industrial action earlier in 2025.

Equity’s ballot opens on Thursday and runs for two weeks, and will show the level of support the union has for action short of a strike.

Another statutory ballot would have to be made before any industrial action is taken.

“While tech companies get away with stealing artists’ likeness or work, and the government and decision makers fret over whether to act, unions including Equity are at the forefront of the fight to ensure working people are protected from artificial intelligence misuse,” Equity general secretary Paul W Fleming said in a statement.

“If bosses can’t ensure someone’s likeness and work won’t be used without their consent, why should performers consent to be digitally scanned in the first place?”

Mr Fleming said the ballot would give members the opportunity to “send a clear message to the industry: that it is a basic right of performers to have autonomy over their own personhood and identity”.

The union has no choice but to recommend members support industrial action, he said.

“It’s time for the bosses to step away from the brink and offer us a package, including on AI protections, which respects our members,” added Mr Fleming.