Craig McLachlan’s partner Vanessa Scammell says allegations against him were ‘unfathomable’

Actor Craig McLachlan’s partner has spoken out about the allegations levelled against him, labelling them “unfathomable”.

Embattled actor Craig McLachlan’s partner Vanessa Scammell is standing by her man – and says she didn’t even have to ask if the accusations against him were true, because she knew they weren’t.

The actor had always denied allegations that he sexually harassed female co-stars in the 2014 stage production of The Rocky Horror Show, and was acquitted of the sexual harassment allegations in December.

Pianist and conductor Scammell appeared alongside her partner in Channel 7’s controversial 90-minute McLachlan tell-all last night. The at-times bizarre TV special, which saw McLachlan cry, sing and even storm out of the interview at one point, drew fierce backlash from viewers.

He and Scammell, claimed that female accusers were jealous about his success and that he “contemplated the unthinkable … my family would be better off without me”.

Actor Craig McLachlan (right) and partner Vanessa Scammell outside court in December. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

Scammell also claimed the magistrate who acquitted McLachlan of indecent assault charges robbed him of his victory by criticising his performance as a witness.

She said that was because of the #MeToo climate forcing people to support women.

In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph published ahead of the special airing last night, Scammell said the allegations against her partner were “unfathomable.”

“It remains unfathomable that your life can unravel in an instant with unsubstantiated allegations and headlines,” she said.

“The ripples of destruction it caused are beyond measure.”

Scammell says the allegations against her partner were “unfathomable.” Picture: David Swift

Scammell told the Sunday Telegraph that she had been present at The Rocky Horror Show almost every night of the show’s 2014 run, and had no doubts about his innocence.

“I was not heard because no one wanted to hear from me. I was never part of the narrative because as an educated, successful career woman, that wasn’t going to assist the public decimation of my partner,” she said.

She also claimed that the 2014 cast of Rocky Horror were an “affectionate” group, prone to “mucking around”.

A January 2018 report by Fairfax and the ABC first reported allegations McLachlan had been accused of sexually harassing several actresses.

Victoria Police later charged him with seven counts of indecent assault and six counts of common law assault against four women on the set of The Rocky Horror Show in 2014.

He was acquitted of all crimes.

Seven’s decision to give McLachlan 90 minutes of airtime proved controversial. Picture: Channel 7

Last December, Magistrate Belinda Wallington said prosecutors had not met the required standard for her to find McLachlan guilty of the allegations.

She labelled the actor’s behaviour as “egocentric” and said his “self-entitled sense of humour” may have led him to believe the victims were consenting to his acts.

However, she ultimately rejected police allegations the former Neighbours star touched a woman’s genitalia over her costume on stage, that he stuck his tongue into one woman’s mouth and that he felt up a woman’s thigh.

McLachlan has since filed defamation action against The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, the ABC for their reporting into the allegations.

The day before Seven aired its McLachlan special, the ABC revealed three more actresses have accused the actor of sexually harassing them during The Rocky Horror Show and on the set of The Doctor Blake Mysteries TV series.