The former BBC DJ Tim Westwood has appeared in a central London court after being charged with rape and sexual assault.
During a brief hearing at Westminster magistrates court on Monday, the 68-year-old was told he must return to Southwark crown court in December to face 15 charges relating to seven women. The charges include four counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and nine counts of indecent assault.
Wearing dark trousers and a dark grey shirt, Westwood spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address. The former BBC DJ, who returned to the UK from Nigeria last week, was not required to enter pleas to any of the charges and was granted conditional bail.
The chief magistrate, Paul Goldspring, granted Westwood bail on the condition that he did not contact prosecution witnesses. Westwood will next appear at Southwark crown court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on 8 December.
The CPS has previously stated that the offences involve seven women and are said to have taken place between 1983 and 2016.
Charges include the indecent assault of a 17-year-old girl in Fulham, London, in 1983 and the sexual assault of a woman in her 20s in Vauxhall, London, in 1986.
He has also been charged with the rape of a female aged between 17 and 18 in London between 1995 and 1996, as well as the sexual assault of the same girl in a similar period.
Further charges include the rape and sexual assault of a female aged between 17 and 18 in London between 2000 and 2001; the rape of a woman in her 20s in London in 2010 and the sexual assault of a woman in her 20s in Stroud, Gloucestershire.
Westwood has previously said he “strongly denies all allegations of inappropriate behaviour”.
The most recent alleged offence was sexual assault of a woman in her 20s in Finchley, north London, in 2016.
Westwood began his career on local radio before joining Capital Radio in London. He became one of the UK’s best-known names in hip-hop after hosting BBC Radio 1’s first Rap Show in 1994. He left the BBC after 20 years in 2013, later hosting a regular show on Capital Xtra, which he left in April.