Actor Kristian Lavercombe told court he was on ‘suicide watch’ when allegations against Craig McLachlan were revealed

A co-star and friend of Craig McLachlan has told a court that he felt he was on “suicide watch” when allegations that the Australian actor sexually harassed his co-stars were aired. Mr McLachlan is suing his former co-star Christie Whelan Browne, the ABC and Fairfax Media for defamation in the NSW Supreme Court. The 56-year-old claims the media companies and Ms Whelan Browne defamed him by publishing stories in January 2018 that he says falsely portrayed him as having harassed and bullied female performers in the 2014 run of The Rocky Horror Show. He denies the allegations. Welsh-born actor and singer Kristian Lavercombe, who has played the role of Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Show about 2000 times, appeared via audiovisual link on day seven of the trial on Tuesday. He told the court that he was a support person for Mr McLachlan the day the allegations were aired. Mr Lavercombe told the court that Mr McLachlan was aware the stories were going to air ahead of time but “didn’t know what they were going to say or what they were about”. The Welsh actor, who gave evidence about 1am local time from Liverpool in the UK, was staying in Mr McLachlan’s spare room and had received a text to say the story had “broken early in the newspaper”. “I was a bit nervous about it because I brought it up on my phone without showing him and read through it and thought it was full on,” Mr Lavercombe told the court. “I suggested he turn off the television because I was scared the story was going to come on. “I wasn’t sure how to handle the situation.” Mr Lavercombe told the court that Mr McLachlan “wasn’t himself”, was incredibly nervous and had “aged about 30 years overnight”. Mr McLachlan looked “frail” and was in shock when the news broke, Mr Lavercombe told the court. Six months after the publications were aired, Mr Lavercombe visited his friend before leaving the country and told the court that Mr McLachlan picked him up from the airport in a full disguise. “He had the hat, sunglasses, hat was pulled right down … I think it was one of the first times he had left the house in three to four months,” Mr Lavercombe told the court. “He was a completely different person … he seemed really old and ill.” Mr Lavercombe also gave evidence that Ms Whelan Browne was “difficult” during rehearsals and was always questioning the director. He told the court that the cast were very affectionate and would often hug and kiss in greeting each other. “Mr McLachlan and Ms Whelan Browne would often tell each other jokes … they’ve got quite similar senses of humour,” Mr Lavercombe told the court. “The jokes were risque and funny and people were laughing … they would egg each other on.” Mr Lavercombe told the court that Ms Whelan Browne would often make jokes that made fun of co-star Erika Heynatz. “She (Ms Whelan Browne) would always pass them off as jokes but would talk about her being a tranny, calling her ‘Man Hands’,” he said. “Erika is quite tall and would talk about her being a man but would say it was a joke.” Mr McLachlan’s partner, orchestra conductor Vanessa Scammell, returned to the witness stand where she denied lying to defence barrister Michael Hodge QC. Mr Hodge grilled Ms Scammell, claiming she was lying to the jury to “protect Mr McLachlan”. “No, I am not,” she responded. The trial continues. Mental health support