Michael Le Vell, star of Coronation Street, charged with sex offences

The charges include raping a child, indecently assaulting a child, and sexual activity with a child. Le Vell, 48, denies the allegations, and has said he will “do everything in my power to prove my innocence.”

Greater Manchester police said the actor will appear in court in two weeks time.

Le Vell was first arrested for alleged child sex offences in September 2011. The investigation was dropped three months later after authorities said there was not enough evidence to charge him. At the time, Le Vell thanked police for their investigation and the staff of Coronation Street for their support.

The actor has again been charged after lawyers from the Crown Prosecution Service reviewed the evidence. Alison Levitt QC, the principal legal adviser to the director of public prosecutions, said that after carefully reviewing evidence, “I have concluded that there is sufficient evience and it is in the public interest to charge Michael Robert Turner with a number of sexual offences.”