Weinstein-accuser Lysette Anthony welcomes legal proceedings against producer

Lysette Anthony attends the British Soap Awards 2018 at Hackney Empire on June 2, 2018 in London, England. Picture; Getty

The Hollyoaks star is one of dozens of actresses who has made allegations against the movie mogul and said he needed a chance to be tried.

She has said she had told the Metropolitan Police she was attacked by him in her London home in the late 1980s.

Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.

Speaking prior to the awards, Anthony praised the start of court proceedings against the producer in the United States as she called for women to stand together for feminism.

She told the Press Association: “Time is up - what I’m happy about is it stops being trial by Twitter and justice gets due course.

“It’s what it’s all about, it’s all any of us, we’ve ever wanted.

“I’m telling the truth but he needs the chance to be tried,” she said, adding that dozens of other accusers had similar stories to her.

She compared the Time’s Up and Me Too movements with the Arab Spring, adding: “I don’t mean to be disrespectful because people died with Arab Spring, but that’s the purpose of Twitter, it is lone voices in the wilderness being heard and that’s the most important thing.”

Coronation Street star Nicola Thorp and Doctors actress Elisabeth Dermot Walsh supported Time’s Up on the red carpet, with the latter wearing a pin on her dress.

On their support, Anthony said: “Soaps are the cutting edge and the immediate edge of relevance and times are a changing and that’s a good thing.”

Thorp told the Press Association: “I’m so proud that actresses, not just in the UK but over the pond, have really been highlighting the issue with sexual harassment, not just in entertainment but in all lines of work.

“I really think this is the beginning of a revolution, not just in teaching and educating people on how and how not to behave, but also empowering them so they feel they can speak out and men (too), if they feel like they have been victimised in such a way.

“I’m so, so happy the entertainment industry has embraced that campaign and I support it wholeheartedly.”

She said she was proud to be part of soaps because they “give a voice to the voiceless”.

Walsh told the Press Association it was “very important” for her to support the movement and called Doctors a “truly feminist show”.

She said: “It’s a truly feminist show, the protagonists are very often females, the stories are driven by females, there are some very funny boys on the show too, but we are very lucky, we get to be centre of the story very often, which is not how it is across the world of drama.”

Weinstein has been indicted on rape and criminal sex act charges in New York.

The film producer was brought “another step closer to accountability” by the indictment, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr said.

The film producer was charged in May on two counts of rape and one of a criminal sexual act for alleged incidents involving two separate women.

Weinstein, 66, was in court last month in New York in his first public appearance since facing numerous allegations of sexual misconduct.

He posted a one million dollar (£751,060) cash bail and agreed to wear an electronic monitor which tracks his movements 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

He also surrendered his passport and agreed to stay within the states of New York and Connecticut.

Weinstein, who has repeatedly denied allegations of non-consensual sex, intends to plead not guilty to the charges.